All's Well That Keeps Going
by quietandsneaky
Summary: Sequel to The Moon and the Stars, The Things Unseen (Make The Soul Ache), and The Ghost of Christmas Now. Sixteen year old Kayla meets a boy at school and falls head over heels for him. But someone from her past threatens the budding romance.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me.**

**A/N: What's this? Another story? When I already have two in the works? Why, yes it is! But Bringing Down the House is almost done, and John Winchester's Journal won't be done for a while. This one called out to me. Enjoy!**

"Hey! I'm home!" Kayla shouted as she walked through the door.

"We're in the kitchen, honey!"

Kayla walked to the kitchen and found her mother and little sister Mary patting out some dough. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're making pizza!" Mary said excitedly. "You want to help?"

"Um, I'd love to, but I need to talk to Mom about something. Can you give us a minute?"

"Why can't I stay too?"

"I promise, if you let me talk to Mom alone right now, and she says yes to what I'm about to ask, I will tell you all about it when I get home." Kayla said. "Please?"

Mary huffed. "You promise you'll tell me about it?"

"Yes. If you go to your room now and let me ask Mom. And don't listen in."

"Deal."

"Thank you, buggy." Kayla said, ruffling Mary's hair as she walked on.

"Don't call me that." Mary said, pushing Kayla's hand away as she walked towards her room.

Kayla laughed, and when she turned around, Jess was smiling. "Okay. What's up with you?"

"I, um, I want to go out tonight."

"Out where?" Jess asked.

"With a friend." Kayla said with a smile.

"Which friend?"

"You don't know him." Kayla answered.

"Him? Is this a date?" Jess asked.

"Maybe." Kayla said.

"Honey, it's a school night." Jess reminded Kayla.

"I know. And I promise I'd be back by curfew." Kayla said. "We want to go to the coffee shop and talk. That's it."

"I don't know."

"Mom, please. Please let me do this." Kayla begged.

Jess sighed. "I can't keep this from your father."

"I'm not asking you to lie to him. If you let me go, I promise I'll tell him about it as soon as I get home tonight. You, Dad, and Mary. I just want a couple hours with this guy before Dad scares him off."

Jess was conflicted. She felt wrong not telling Sam everything about where Kayla was. But Sam, for the last two years, had been even more overprotective of Kayla than he had been before the family had moved back to Sioux Falls.

"Mom, please. I'm begging here. Just give me today." Kayla pleaded.

"You go straight to the coffee shop and straight back. You do not go anywhere else. On your way back home, you stick to lighted roads and public places."

"Deal."

"And I have to meet him before you go anywhere."

Kayla grinned and bit her bottom lip. "I thought you might say that. He's waiting outside."

Jess laughed. "You were awful sure I'd say yes."

"I was." Kayla said, walking up to Jess and kissing. "'Cause you're the best mommy in the whole wide world."

"I already said yes, you can stop sucking up now." Jess chuckled. "Go get him and bring him in."

Kayla walked to the front door, opened it, and came back inside with a boy that reminded Jess remarkably of Sam. He was tall, nearly six feet already at sixteen years old. He had shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes, and was neatly dressed in khakis and a nice black shirt.

"Mom, this is Todd. Todd, this is my mom, Jessica Winchester."

"Mrs. Winchester, it's nice to meet you." Todd said, offering Jess his hand to shake.

"It's very nice to meet you too, Todd. Can I ask what you and Kayla are planning to do?"

"Well, I'm new to the school. My parents moved here because my dad got a new job at the local hospital. But the move took a little longer than my parents planned, so I fell behind at school a bit. I asked Kayla if she'd be willing to help me catch up."

"So you'll be studying?" Jess asked skeptically. "The entire time?"

Todd smiled. "Well, I was hoping more to just get a sense of where we are at school. I don't mean this to sound vain, but back home I was a straight A student."

"Oh, smart too." Jess said. "I'm impressed."

"Just as smart as Kayla is." Todd remarked, making Kayla blush beside him.

"Alright, you two. I'm sold. But Todd? I need my daughter back in this house well before her curfew."

"What time is her curfew?"

"Nine."

"I'll have her back at eight thirty." Todd promised.

"And when you come back, you will have to meet my husband. And he will probably be a lot less friendly than I am."

"I think I can handle it, ma'am." Todd said.

"Alright. Go. You two have a good time."

"Can I come out now?" Mary called from her room.

"In a minute!" Kayla yelled. "Thanks, Mom."

Jess shook her head as the two of them left. She'd worried about whether Kayla would ever date or not. She had improved dramatically. She had more friends, was much more social, and, as far as Jess knew, didn't have nightly bad dreams anymore. She still had trouble getting close to anyone new, so she hadn't been to any sleepovers or gotten especially close to any new friends. But Jess knew that, with time and gentle encouragement, that would change.

"Mary, you can come out now!"

Mary walked back to the kitchen, looking distinctly displeased at being kept out of whatever was going on. "Why do I have to miss all the fun stuff?"

Jess laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Your sister used to wonder the same thing when she was your age." Jess said. "Here, taste this. Then go wash up. Daddy'll be home soon."

Back at the coffee shop, Kayla was feeling…weird. She couldn't think of a better word to describe it. She remembered Jess telling her once that when she was dating Sam, she'd felt like there were butterflies floating in her stomach every time he was around. Kayla asked if that feeling had ever gone away, and Jess had answered that she just got used to it. Kayla felt that way now. Every time Todd laughed, or asked her a question, or answered one of hers, or even just breathed in her general vicinity, Kayla worried that if she opened her mouth, those butterflies her mother talked about would come out with a vengeance.

"Well, it's been good, but we should get you home."

"Why? What time is it?" Kayla looked at the clock on the wall. "It's 8:15 already?"

"Yep. We've been here for four hours."

"Wow." Kayla thought about protesting, but remembered what Todd said about getting her home half an hour early. "You really want to impress my parents, don't you?"

"I want to see you again. And from what your mom said, I have a feeling impressing your dad's the best way to do that."

"On that you'd be right. But, I should warn you. It's not just my dad."

"What do you mean?"

"I kind of have a feeling my mom told him where I was, and you'll have to meet my grandpa and two uncles too." Kayla said. Todd blanched, and Kayla laughed. "Don't look so worried. Wait till you meet my little sister."

Kayla and Todd walked back towards her house, and Kayla felt good. She was surprised that she was okay with walking home with Todd alone. When they made it to the house, Kayla was relieved to only see her father's car in the driveway. Maybe Jess really had told Sam she was just out with friends.

"You can relax. It's just my dad."

Todd let out a breath. "Good."

For the first time all day, Kayla found herself truly nervous. _I hope so._ "Come on."

Kayla walked up the four steps and into the house. Her family was seated on the living room couch, watching a movie, and all activity in the room ceased when she closed the door. Kayla saw her father take stock of Todd in the three seconds before he spoke. Her heart sank and she hoped she misread the disapproval she saw there. Kayla grabbed Todd's hand and squeezed it for encouragement.

"Hi, Dad." she said cheerfully.

"Hey, there. You gonna introduce me to your friend?" Sam asked, standing up off the couch and walking over to them.

"Sure. This is Todd Whitaker. He's new in town. Todd, this is my dad, Sam Winchester."

"Mr. Winchester. It's nice to meet you." Todd said, and Kayla could see the effort it was taking him to not be intimidated by Sam's towering height.

Sam accepted Todd's handshake, and Kayla could see Sam still sizing him up. "So, can I ask why you took my daughter out before meeting me?"

"That was my choice, not his." Kayla answered, annoyed. "And it's because I wanted to spend some time with him before getting interrogated by you."

"I apologize if I offended you, Mr. Winchester. I met Kayla earlier this week when I started school. She's been helping me get oriented to everything. I just wanted to pay back the favor."

"I see." Sam said. "And where'd you move here from?"

"Baton Rouge, sir."

"Mm-hmm. And how good of a student are you?"

"Straight A's. If you'd like, I'll bring my last report card whenever I come back."

Kayla smiled, and could tell it annoyed Sam slightly that while Todd might have been intimidated by Sam's taller stature, he wasn't intimidated by all the questions.

"All right. Thank you for coming in to meet me." Sam said. "I hope you understand. I'm not trying to put you through the ringer for no reason. But Kayla's my baby girl. I'm going to do whatever I have to to protect her."

"I understand, sir. I do. Since we got back early, is it okay if we go talk on the porch for a few minutes?"

"As long as talking is all you're going to do."

"DAD!" Kayla exclaimed, horrified at the implication he was making. "Seriously?"

"Um, excuse me!" an annoyed Mary exclaimed from the couch.

Kayla had been so irritated with Sam that she'd forgotten to introduce Mary. "Oh, right. Sorry, buggy. Todd, this is my little sister, Mary."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too. And don't call me buggy!"

"Alright. Enough. Todd, you and Kayla can talk until her curfew at nine. Stay on the porch." Jess instructed.

"Yes, ma'am." Todd said, grateful for Jess's intervention.

When the two teenagers were out the door, Sam turned to Jess and said immediately, "I don't like him."

Jess chuckled. "Yes, you do."

"How do you know?"

"Because he's polite, he brought Kayla back thirty-five minutes early, and he stood up to you interrogating him like that." Jess said. "Admit it."

"Fine. Maybe I do. But don't tell Kayla that. Or Todd."

"I won't." Jess said. "Promise."

"Can I go out there with them?" Mary asked.

"Yes!" Sam agreed enthusiastically.

"No, you absolutely may not." Jess said. "Your father's already going to give them a hard enough time. They don't need a nosey little sister added to the mix."

"Fine." A disappointed Sam and Mary said at the same time.

"Why don't you start getting ready for bed?" Jess said.

"Aww! But Kayla promised to tell me about her date!"

"And she can tell you just as easily in your pajamas as she can if you aren't. Go." Jess repeated patiently, pointing up the stairs in the direction of the bathroom.

"I never get to be here for the fun stuff." Mary grumbled as she walked up the stairs.

"And you better brush your teeth too!"

"Ugh. Date. Can I make Kayla wait until she's thirty-five?" Sam asked.

"No. But listen. All jokes aside. Didn't you notice how happy she was?"

Sam smiled. "Yeah. I did."

"I know it's your fatherly prerogative to give him a hard time. But don't give him too hard a time. Don't chase him off. He could be good for her. Make her see that not every guy is out to get her."

"You're right." Sam said. "I know you're right."

"And don't pressure her to tell you about the date. If she wants to tell you, she will. If she doesn't, it just means she's a teenage girl and she wants to keep it between her mom and sister. Okay?"

"Okay." Sam said. "Thanks for helping keep me level headed."

"It's my job."

The front door opened, and Kayla stepped back inside. Todd poked his head in and said, "I have to head home before my own curfew, Mr. and Mrs. Winchester. I just wanted to say good night."

"Good night, Todd." Jess said.

"Good night, son." Sam said.

"Night, Kayla."

"Bye."

Kayla pushed the door shut, and Sam expected her to start tearing into him for the meeting earlier. "Look, honey, I…"

Sam was left speechless when Kayla crossed the living room and kissed him on the cheek, then hugged him. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby."

"I'm going to get ready for bed." Kayla said.

Kayla walked to her room, her thoughts preoccupied with Todd. She bit her lip and smiled when she thought of how special he made her feel. She quickly changed into her pajamas, then looked out the window and up at the moon. It was a habit that had been ingrained in her years earlier while living away from her parents for a few months. She knew her mother still kept up with it too, even though they were back in the same house. But before she could whisper 'I love you' and head to her sister's room to keep her promise, she spotted something.

The rosebush was moving. Not a lot, and Kayla would have just chalked it up to wind if she didn't know for a fact that there was no breeze that night. _Maybe it's a stray cat or something_, she thought, and started to walk away. But what stepped out of the rosebush was distinctly human. Kayla's heart stopped immediately. She remembered those eyes. They haunted her dreams at night. She saw them when she was alone in the dark, and had to remind herself there was no way they could actually be there. No way they could be back to haunt her again. When the figure smiled and waved at her, Kayla let out a scream she wasn't conscious of making. She fell to the floor underneath the window, shaking and crying in a way she hadn't done in years. She heard her parents flying up the stairs and into her room.

"Kayla! What's wrong, honey?"

"In…in the…in the yard. Front yard."

"What? What's out in the yard, honey?" Sam asked.

"There's someone…a man…in the front yard…" Kayla sputtered.

A dark look crossed Sam's face and he turned to Mary, who had come into the room following Kayla's scream. "Mary, stay in here with your mother and sister."

"Mommy…" 

Jess took a seat next to Kayla, and tried to comfort her as Sam went outside to check out what was going on. She tried to tell Kayla that everything was oaky, that she'd be fine, but Jess didn't know if she really believed that or not. Sam came back inside, and knelt down in front of Kayla. He wiped away the tears on her face and explained gently,

"I didn't see anything outside, baby. What'd you see that scared you so much?"

"It was him."

"Him who?" Sam asked. 

Kayla swallowed. "He was standing in front of the rosebush, looking up at me and waving. I swear it was him, Dad."

"Who, honey?" Sam asked.

"It was Art."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Warning-Kayla talks a little in detail in this chapter, but not explicitly, about what Art did to her.**

"Art?" Sam asked. "Honey, it couldn't be."

"It was. I know it was him."

"Baby, listen to me. Listen. Art is dead. I swear to you, he is dead. He cannot hurt you again."

"Then what…?" Kayla asked. "What did I see?"

"I don't know." Sam said.

"Kay? Do you want me to sleep with you, honey?" Jess asked. It had been months since she'd slept with Kayla because of a nightmare, but she was hoping it would make Kayla calm down enough to sleep.

"Yeah. Yeah, please."

"Okay." Jess said. She looked to Sam, who simply nodded and exhaled hard. "Okay, baby, I will."

"Daddy? Will you stay too? Till I go to sleep?"

"Yeah. I'll stay, baby. Just let me tuck Mary in, okay?"

"I want to hear about Kayla's date." Mary protested.

"That's a great idea, Mary." Jess said. "Why don't you tell us about your date, honey?"

"What? Really?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah. I want to hear about it too." Jess said. "Here, let's do this. Mary'll get up here with you. Let me and Daddy go talk a minute, then I'll be right back. Okay?"

"Okay." Kayla said, voice shaking.

"Alright. We'll be right outside, baby." Jess said. She stood up and helped Kayla off the floor, then hugged her tightly. "Everything's okay. You're safe, I promise."

Kayla let go of Jess, then climbed on the bed with her sister. When Jess went out into the hallway with Sam, she heard Mary asking Kayla questions and Kayla cautiously answering them. She said a quick prayer of thanks for Mary, who could always cheer up her sister faster than anyone else.

"What do you think?" Sam asked.

"I think that she is freaking out worse than ever before." Jess said. "I think she really thinks she saw him."

"I don't doubt her…" Sam started.

"Sam? Are you _sure_ he's dead?" Jess asked. "There's no way that he could've come back?"

"I'll talk to them after Kayla's asleep."

"Sam, if he's back…"

"He's not. He can't be." Sam said, hoping it was true. "I'll talk with them and see…"

Mary came out in the hallway with her parents, stopping Sam's conversation short. "Kayla's asleep."

"Already?" Jess asked. "It's been less than five minutes."

"I couldn't get her to talk. She started shaking and crying again, and she cried herself to sleep." Mary said. She turned to Sam, worried. "Daddy? Is Art coming back? Will he hurt Kayla again?"

"No." Sam swore. "I promise you, I will not let that happen."

Mary nodded. "I believe you. But Kayla's really scared."

"I know. I'm gonna try to take care of that." Sam promised. "You ready for bed?"

"Can I sleep with Kayla?"

"I don't know if there's enough room for you and Mommy both…"

"Mary, it's okay." Jess said. "You can sleep with her. Just come get me if she has a bad dream, okay?"

"I will. Goodnight, Mommy. Night, Daddy."

Mary got her goodnight hugs and kisses from her parents, then headed back into Kayla's room. Jess turned back to Sam, who was already grabbing his car keys.

"I'm going to talk to Dad and Bobby. Hopefully Dean's there too. You'll be okay here?"

"We'll be fine. I've got the girls. Just figure this out." Jess looked inside Kayla's room and got an idea. "What do you think about keeping Kayla out of school tomorrow? Maybe if she sleeps, she'll be calmer in the morning and can talk about it a little more."

"Good idea. I'll be back."

Sam went to talk to his father and Bobby, but found no answers. Apparently, after killing Art, they had burned his body, vacuumed up the ashes with a handheld vacuum, and then, according to Bobby, burnt the vacuum to a crisp 'to make sure the bastard was in hell and stayed there'. Sam, unable to think of another explanation, asked,

"Would you guys do some research, please? See if there's some kind of spirit or something that could be causing this? I would help, but I want to stay close to Kayla…"

"We got it, Sam. We'll call you if we come up with something." John promised. "Let us know if she sees anything else."

"Yeah. Thanks, guys."

The next morning, after a fitful night of sleep for both Kayla and her parents, Kayla woke to find her room filling with sunlight. It took a moment for her to remember the events of the night before, and when she did, she felt her heart clench painfully in her chest. _He's dead_, Kayla reminded herself. _Daddy said he made sure Art was dead. He wouldn't lie to me about something like that._ Kayla turned on her side and saw her alarm clock. She jumped when she saw the time. She quickly got dressed and ran downstairs, where she was surprised to find her parents casually drinking coffee at the kitchen table.

"Sorry I overslept. Dad, can you take me to school…?"

"Sweetie, slow down." Sam said. "We turned off your alarm. We're keeping you home from school today."

"Why?"

"We want to talk, honey." Jess said. "You really scared us last night."

"Oh. That." Kayla said. She took a breath and asked, "Do we have to?"

"I think we should." Sam said. "We'll go slow if you want. But we need to talk about this."

"What do you want to know?"

"Come sit down." Jess said. She patted the chair next to her and waited. Kayla took her seat and Jess asked, "What exactly did you see?"

"I told you. I was looking out the window and I saw the rosebush moving. Art came out of it and he looked up and waved at me."

"Are you _sure_ it was him?" Sam asked. "Are you sure it wasn't just someone walking by the house?"

"He was missing a side tooth. I saw it when he was smiling. And that smile and wave wasn't just random. It was…" Kayla stopped, the memory that was beginning to surface more painful than she'd remembered.

"It was what?" Jess asked.

"It was a signal." Kayla said quietly. "He'd do that whenever he wanted me to find him. It was his way of saying he wanted to be alone with me."

Swallowing the bile that surged to his throat, Sam shook his head and waited before saying anything else. Kayla was very sensitive to his moods; he often had to remind himself that if he didn't force himself to be calm when talking to her, he wouldn't do anything but make her shut down.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I don't know why you saw him last night. But I promise he's dead and he's not coming back."

Kayla nodded. "Okay, Daddy."

Sam's heart twisted at that. Kayla had stopped calling him Daddy not long after they'd moved into the house. While he missed it terribly, he chose to look at it as a good sign. She was feeling safe, more secure. If she was going back to 'Daddy', Sam wondered if that was the case anymore.

"Look, why don't you, me, and Mom go out and do something today?" Sam asked.

"Like what?"

"Well, we haven't been to the river in a while." Sam suggested.

"I don't want to do that without Mary." Kayla said. "Could we just hang out here? Watch a movie or something?"

"Sure. But have some breakfast first." Jess insisted.

Kayla smiled. "Daddy? Will you make my pancakes?"

Sam stood up and kissed her cheek. "You bet. You want to help?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Go get the mixing bowl."

Sam shared a hopeful look with Jess. Everything seemed okay, and they couldn't help but hope that it stayed that way. But a crash and the sound of broken glass from the other side of the kitchen jarred them both out of their thoughts.

Kayla was standing next to the cabinet, leaning against it and trembling slightly. She had dropped the glass bowl in front of her. Sam and Jess flew from the table. Sam was the only one wearing shoes, so Jess grabbed the broom while Sam grabbed Kayla.

"Kayla? What is it?"

"S…sorry. I d…dropped the bowl."

"I'm not worried about the bowl, honey. We can replace that. What's wrong with you?" Sam insisted. "Talk to me."

"Can't…'m dizzy. Room's spinning. Feel sick."

"How long have you felt sick?" Sam asked. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Just started. When I bent down to get the bowl." Kayla said. "D…daddy, something's w…wrong."

"Okay, come on." Sam grabbed Kayla's hand and helped guide her away from the glass that Jess had just finished sweeping. "Jess, come on. We're going to the hospital." Kayla took a step and promptly sunk to the floor. "Whoa. Come on. Hang on to me, I'll help you to the car."

"M…mommy?"

"I'm right here, honey." Jess said.

"'m scared." Kayla said, her speech starting to slur a little more as she talked.

"Don't be scared, baby. Mommy's right here. We'll get to the hospital and get this figured out, okay?"

"D…don'…leave….me…"

"Never, baby. Never." Jess said, slipping on shoes at the front door and taking over getting Kayla to the car. "I'll sit in the back with you."

Sam shattered the speed limit to get to the hospital that was less than ten minutes away, but the ride seemed to take forever. Kayla was crying by the time they got there, and an alarmed emergency room staff immediately took Kayla to an exam room. Standing in the middle of the waiting area, Jess was finally starting to panic, and Sam wasn't far behind her.

"Sam, what's going on?"

"I don't know, Jess." Sam answered, his voice betraying him and starting to crack with worry. "I just don't know."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Warning-Kayla's diagnosis in this chapter is rough. Really rough. It is also **_**completely made up.**_** I did some basic research, but her condition is not meant to be realistic. So please no flaming reviews about that.**

**There is also a brief passing mention in this chapter about the fact that Art molested Kayla.**

**Also, I got an email saying I had a review from the user tamilyn313 with a question about the story. I tried to respond to the review, but I guess the website is being buggy. I also tried to send a PM without using the reply link in the email, but that didn't work either. So, sorry to put you on the spot, dear, but I really wanted to answer the question. Anyway, the question was this-"Sam told Kay that Art was dead. what does she know about his death? She certainly knows nothing about the spn and most definitely nothing about Art's true demise." **

**Here's my answer-that's all true. Basically, I figure Sam would have told her that Art was dead, but either not given her any details or, if she pressed, made something up and got the rest of the family to go along with it (a story that he committed suicide or was killed in prison while waiting to be tried, something along those lines). The way I pictured it in my mind was that he didn't tell her anything at first, but either Kayla asked about him or had a bad nightmare about him, and Sam told her Art was dead to help her feel safe. Hope that makes sense!**

Dr. Roland Jackson had been in diagnostic medicine for over twenty years. He had always believed there was never a case that he couldn't solve. Until today.

Kayla Winchester had been brought in with a fever, slurred speech, and just generally feeling sick. His first thought, odd as it was in a sixteen-year-old girl, had been a stroke. He guessed that the fever was some a secondary effect of the stroke. But he could find no evidence of a stroke, so he moved on.

All day he'd been trying different ideas, only to have them shot down. He'd consulted with every specialist in the hospital he could think of. They'd run blood tests and ruled out all the usual infections, and even a few unusual ones. Nothing was coming to mind. Lost as to what else to do, and knowing he was risking his job, the doctor ordered something he'd only even seen done once in his entire career. A whole body MRI. The results, he felt, merited only one reaction.

"What in the hell…?"

"I know." Dr. Jackson had asked another doctor, head neurologist Dr. Vernon Peel, to join him, to verify that the results were as crazy as they seemed.

"How many are there?"

"We haven't counted. But it's at least in the hundreds." Dr. Peel said. "How is this kid still alive?"

"Her parents said she was pretty much normal until yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" Dr. Peel asked.

"Her father thinks she was hallucinating a family friend that molested her."

"Hallucinations. Huh." Dr. Peel said, considering. "Look, I'd like to go with you to talk to the family."

"Please do. I don't have a clue what to make of this. What should we do about treatment?"

"I don't even have a clue where to start on that. I'll have to consult with some other hospitals. But they've been here for twelve hours. We need to tell them something."

Dr. Jackson took another look at the MRI results and shook his head. "This kid's in for a world of hurt. Let's go."

When they'd arrived at the hospital hours earlier, Sam had believed they'd be there for a couple of hours, Kayla would have to go through some tests, and they'd have a quick diagnosis and they'd either be able to go home or Kayla would have to stay in the hospital for a while. It wouldn't be easy, but Kayla would be okay in the long run. He had to believe that. If he didn't, Sam felt he'd lose his mind.

Kayla had slept most of the day. She woke for short periods, looked around for one of her parents, then went back to sleep when she spotted them. Jess woke her up for a few minutes to eat a few bites of lunch, but Kayla couldn't stomach finishing her entire sandwich. John had recruited Dean to pick up Mary from school, and was actually considering going home to get some paperwork to keep himself from going crazy waiting.

"I'm going to find the doctor." Sam said.

"I know it's hard waiting. But I'd rather wait a while to find an answer than…"

Before Jess could finish her thought, Dr. Jackson appeared in the doorway with a doctor they hadn't seen earlier. "Mr. and Mrs. Winchester?"

"Dr. Jackson. Come in." Jess said. "Did you find anything?"

"We did. This here is Dr. Peel. He's our head neurologist here at the hospital."

"Neurologist? So there's a problem with Kayla's brain?" Sam asked impatiently.

"Mr. Winchester, I'm afraid Kayla's case is extremely complicated." Dr. Peel said. "Kayla's problem is not just in her brain."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, the MRI we did a couple of hours ago, as I explained, is a whole body MRI. We basically do them when we have no other idea what to do to find an answer." Dr. Jackson explained. He took a breath and said, "We found tumors throughout Kayla's body."

The color drained from both Jess and Sam's faces. "Tumors? You mean more than one?"

"I mean a lot more than that." Dr. Jackson pulled his pen from his pocket and showed Sam and Jess the tip. "The tumors in Kayla's body are around the size of the tip of my pen here. They seem to be spread evenly throughout her body, though we need to study her result. s a little more carefully before can determine that for sure."

"How many are we talking?" Sam asked.

"I don't have an exact number. Dr. Peel and I will go through later and count to try to come up with one, so we can try and make a list of where exactly they're located. But if I had to hazard a guess right now, I would say there's at least two hundred of them."

"Excuse me?" Sam reached across the bed and grabbed Jess's hand when she let out a strangled cry at the doctor's guess. "Two _hundred_?"

"Yes. They're located all over her body. They're on her brain, her heart, her liver, all her major organs."

"How is that possible? She was completely healthy until last night. Wouldn't she have been sicker than this? A lot sicker than this?"

"Mr. Winchester, I need you to know something here. Dr. Jackson has been practicing medicine for twenty years. I'm coming up on my thirty-fifth. Neither of us has _ever_ seen a case remotely resembling your daughters'. As far as we know, no one else has either. There's simply no explanation we can come up with for why your daughter is this ill, this suddenly."

"You're sure about this?"

"We ran the test three times, Mr. Winchester." Dr. Peel assured him.

"So what do we do?" Jess asked, forcing the breath out to ask the question.

"With your permission, Dr. Peel's going to consult with some other doctors at other hospitals. I know it sounds strange for doctors to need a second opinion, but we are so far out of our league here. We're going to come up with a plan to treat Kayla as fast as we possibly can."

"You mean there's nothing you can do right now?" Sam asked. "We have to just let her lay here in bed?"

"We're going to monitor Kayla very closely for a few days. We'll give her some medicine to help her fever, and we'll give her something for pain if she develops any. But the problem with treatment is this. Because the tumors are spread so evenly around her body, and there's so many of them, we don't want to just start her on standard treatment. If some of those tumors are cancerous but some are benign, it could help some while making the others more aggressive. That's not a chance we're willing to take yet. I know you've been waiting for a long time here today. Please just be patient with us. Neither of us will stop until we have found a way to help your daughter."

"Be honest with us, Dr. Jackson. Please." Sam asked. He choked when he tried to ask the question at first; the thought of it was incomprehensible to him. But he had to know. "Is she dying?"

"I really wish I could answer that. I'm sorry, but like I said before, we just don't know. But I promise we are going to do our damnedest to find out." Dr. Jackson answered. "Do you have any other questions?"

"Not now." Sam answered. "We need to be alone with Kayla, please."

"Sure. If you want my help talking to her when she's a little more coherent, just have the nurse's desk page me." Dr. Jackson said.

"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester?" Dr. Peel said. "Listen. I know this may sound strange, given what we've just told you. But with the shape your daughter is in right now, it's a medical miracle that she is even still alive. Please hold on to that."

Sam nodded. "Thank you."

"Sure. I'll also be around if you have any questions."

The two doctors left, leaving behind a stunned Sam and Jess. Both of them were staring at Kayla, who had slept through the doctors' visit. Jess was tempted to shake Kayla until she woke up, to prove to herself that the worst hadn't happened yet.

"Jess?" Sam asked cautiously. "What are you thinking?"

"What are we gonna do?" Jess asked, her voice breaking. "Sam, she was completely healthy three days ago. What the hell is happening?"

"I don't know." Sam said. "But I do know that when she wakes up, she's going to need both of us. And if we're panicking, Kayla will be too. So we have to stay calm around her."

Jess nodded. "I know. But…"

"I know, babe. I know. I'm scared too. But…"

Kayla suddenly stirred in her bed, opening her eyes and letting them fall on her parents. "Mommy? Daddy?"

Sam quickly wiped his face and pasted a smile on. "Hey, bug. How you feeling?"

"Tired. But better." Kayla answered.

Jess was taken aback Maybe if Kayla felt better, the diagnosis had been a mistake. "Really?"

"Yeah. What happened to me? What'd the doctor say?"

**Next chapter: Sam and Jess break the news to Kayla about her diagnosis. Sam tells his family what's going on. Todd makes an appearance at the hospital. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I know I said Todd would be in this chapter, and he will be in the next one. This chapter, with the conversations between Kayla and her parents and Sam and the rest of the family, turned out much longer than I originally thought. Todd will be in the next chapter. Promise. **

"What'd the doctor say?"

Sam and Jess looked at each other, having a silent conversation with each other in the space of three seconds. With nothing more than a brief nod to each other, Sam took a seat on the edge of Kayla's bed, while Jess took a chair and sat on the other side of her.

"What do you remember, Kay?"

"Talking in the kitchen this morning. Feeling sick and dropping the bowl. How long has it been?"

"It's been about twelve hours. It's almost nine o'clock at night." Sam said.

"What? Was I asleep the whole time?"

"You woke up a few times, for a little bit at a time." Sam explained.

"So what'd they say? Why'd I get sick like that?" Kayla asked.

"Well, honey," Jess started, speaking slowly to keep her voice calm, even though her heart was raging, "we're going to tell you what the doctor said. And we'll be honest. It's a little scary."

"What do you mean?" Kayla asked. "What's scary about it?"

"Kayla, the doctors found some tumors inside of you." Sam said.

Kayla started to say something, but her mouth refused to work.

"Do you have any questions? Do you want to talk to the doctor yourself? You can."

"Yes." Kayla said. "What…?"

"Hey. Don't panic, okay? Talk to the doctor. We'll be right here the whole time." Jess said.

Sam had Dr. Jackson paged, who patiently ran through with Kayla what he'd talked about with her parents just a little while before. Kayla was quiet, only nodding her head in understanding. After an awkward silence once Dr. Jackson finished what he had to say, Sam grabbed Kayla's hand.

"Honey?"

"I'm just…I don't know what to say."

"I can understand that, Kayla. Listen, I have a few questions for you. Are you up for that?" Dr. Jackson asked.

"Sure."

"When your parents brought you to the hospital, you were having a hard time talking. You seem to be doing better with that. Are you feeling better overall?"

"I'm tired, but I don't feel sick anymore." Kayla said.

"Okay." Dr. Jackson said. "Listen, I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"I need you to keep a journal for me for the next couple days." Dr. Jackson said.

"A journal?"

"A journal." Dr. Jackson repeated. "I want you, every hour on the hour that you're awake, to write down any new symptoms you might be experiencing, and whether or not any symptoms you do have are getting worse. Can you do that for me?"

"Sure."

"I know it sounds strange, but if you can do that for me, at least for tomorrow, it may help us come up with a treatment plan for you." Dr. Jackson explained.

"I do have one question." Kayla said. "This…condition I've got, could it cause me to see things that aren't there?"

"I can't say for sure, but that would be a safe guess."

"Oh, God." Kayla said.

"What, Kayla?" Sam asked.

"You don't think I imagined everything, do you?" Kayla asked fearfully. "About…?"

"About what?"

"Art." Kayla said. "You don't think I imagined it, do you?"

"Kayla, hold on." Dr. Jackson held up a hand. "Art. Is that the family friend you told me about?"

"Yeah." Sam said.

"You told him?" Kayla asked.

"Honey, I had to." Sam said. "It's a part of your medical history."

"Kayla, it won't go past me and your doctors. I promise." Dr. Jackson said. "The fact that you hallucinated something so specific could prove useful."

"I just don't like anyone knowing." Kayla explained.

"I understand." Dr. Jackson said. "I swear, it won't go past me and Dr. Peel, not unless it's absolutely medically necessary. And if that's the case, we'll talk to you first."

Kayla nodded. "Okay."

"Anyway, what you asked about whether you were hallucinating the whole thing? I really don't think so. It happened three years ago, right?"

"Right."

"Well, the size of the tumors we can see on the scan looks like they started growing weeks ago, not months or years. I think whatever this is started not long ago."

"Really?" Kayla asked.

"Really." Dr. Jackson assured her.

"Thank you, doctor." Jess said.

"Don't thank me, please. At least not until we find a more solid answer." Dr. Jackson said. "Kayla, whatever you do, get plenty of rest. We're going to do everything we can to find a way to help you, but we need your help to do that."

"Thanks." Kayla said.

Sam's phone beeped, and when he pulled it out and opened up the text, he frowned. "Doc, can I talk to them for a minute?"

"Sure. I'll be here until six tomorrow morning. After I'm gone, Dr. Peel will be here for another day, so find one of us if you need us."

Once Dr. Jackson left, Sam explained, "Dean says Mary refuses to go to bed until we tell her something about Kayla."

"Go." Kayla said. "If she was here, I'd want to know the same."

"What do you want me to tell her?"

Kayla took a minute to answer, but ultimately decided, "Be honest with her. But just enough it won't scare her."

"Okay." Sam said. "Do you want me to bring you anything from home?"

"I'm gonna be here for a while, right?" Kayla asked, and Sam nodded. "My book from my bedside table. Jackie."

"Okay. How about you, Jess?"

"Just some clothes." Jess said.

"Alright. I'll be back soon." Sam turned to Kayla and put her hair back behind her ear, just like he'd done every other time she was sick. "You're going to be okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Sam said, and wished he could feel as certain as he was trying to come across. "You will be fine. Mom and I are right here. If you want, I'll bring Mary and the rest of the family tomorrow. All you need to worry about is fighting this. Okay?"

"Okay." Kayla said. "Thanks, Dad."

"Get some rest." Sam said gently, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "I love you, bug."

"Love you too."

"Bye, babe." Sam said, sharing a kiss with Jess before leaving the room.

Sam got in the car, forcing himself not to think about what was happening with Kayla. If he did, he was afraid he would crash the car. He headed in the direction of his father and Bobby's house, where he was sure Mary was fighting sleep. The living room light was on when he got there, and Sam took his key out and walked inside. Mary was on the couch, in her pajamas, sitting next to Dean and watching a movie.

"Beanie."

Mary jumped in her seat. She had been half asleep when Sam walked in and hadn't seen him. "Daddy!"

"Hey. Come here." Sam picked up Mary and hugged her, and he felt a new appreciation for having one healthy child.

"Sam?"

"Dean, can you go get Dad and Bobby?" Sam asked as he held Mary. "I want to tell everybody what's going on together."

"Sure. Be right back."

When Dean walked upstairs to get John and Bobby, Mary looked up at her father and yawned. "Daddy? You okay?"

"I'm okay, sweetie."

"Is Kayla okay? Is she still in the hospital?" Mary asked.

"She is still in the hospital. She'll be there for a few days." Sam explained. "I'll tell you everything when Grandpa and uncle Bobby come back down."

"Okay." Mary said.

"Sam?"

"Hey, Dad." Sam said. "Hey, Bobby."

"What's going on?" John asked, taking a seat. "How's Kayla?"

"Sit up, Beanie." Sam said, patting Mary's back. "We need to talk." Sam took a breath and put together what exactly he should say with Mary there. "Kayla is very sick."

"What do you mean?" Mary asked. "How sick?"

"She has something in her body called tumors, honey." Sam said. "The doctors aren't sure about it yet, but they could be a type of cancer."

"Cancer?" Mary asked. "Isn't that what Mrs. McMurtry had?" 

Sam swallowed hard. Martha McMurtry had been Mary's babysitter during the time they'd lived in Washington, D.C. She had cared for Mary, but just before the family had moved back to South Dakota, she'd been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Sam had received word a couple weeks after they'd moved that she had died. Sam and Jess had decided to tell Mary the truth, hoping to introduce the then six-year-old to death and help her understand it.

"If Kayla has cancer, and we don't know that for sure yet, then it would be a different kind of cancer than Mrs. McMurtry had." Sam said. "It won't be as bad as that."

Sam was ready to kick himself when a tired Mary immediately started crying. "Is Kayla gonna die too?"

"No." Sam said. "No. She's not."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know." Sam said simply. "Do you believe me?"

"I believe you." Mary said.

"Okay. Listen to me. I need you to do some things for me."

"Do what?" Mary asked.

"Kayla has to stay at the hospital for a few days, so the doctors can figure out how to help her. Mommy and I are going to be there with her. We will come to see you, but we probably won't spend very much time with you. We need you to be a big girl and stay here with Grandpa and uncle Bobby, at least until Kayla comes home. That means no complaining or crying if we can't be here to tuck you in or play with you."

"You stay with Kayla. She needs you more than me." Mary said in her very best 'big girl' voice.

"That means you're gonna have to go to school from here too. And you'll have to listen to Grandpa and uncle Bobby, and uncle Dean if he's here."

"Promise."

"Dad, Bobby, you're okay with that, right? I don't know how long this is going to be."

"Sam, you know you don't have to ask, boy." Bobby answered.

"Good. Thanks, guys." Sam said. He turned back to Mary. "One more thing. I know you're scared. Mommy and I are too. I won't tell you not to be, because that's not fair. But, if you are scared and you feel like you need to cry, I want you to promise me you won't do it in front of Kayla."

"How come?" Mary asked.

"Because for her to get better, we need to keep her as calm as we can. We need to encourage her. And if she does get scared, we need to make her feel better. We don't want her to worry about making us feel better. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. But what do I do if I do get scared? It's always Kayla that makes me feel better."

"You tell one of us. You can talk to us about it. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy." Mary promised, letting a loud yawn escape.

"Good girl. Why don't you go on up to bed?"

"Since you're here, and you might not be here too much, will you tuck me in tonight? Please? I promise I'll go to sleep real fast."

"I'll be there in a minute." Sam promised. "Go on up to your room."

"Read to me?" Mary asked hopefully.

_No, Mary! We don't have time, _Sam almost said, before reminding himself that Mary was eight and just wanted her little piece of attention now before he left to get back to her sister. "A short one. Pick it out and be up there waiting for me. Tell everyone good night."

Mary gave everyone their hugs and kisses for the night, then headed up to her bed. Once she was gone, Sam felt a little freer to show his family how he was really feeling.

"Sam? What the hell is going on?" John asked impatiently. "How sick is she? Really?"

"It's bad, Dad. Really bad. The doctor found about two hundred tumors small over Kayla's body. Her brain, her heart, her lungs, liver, everywhere."

"How is she still alive?" Dean asked.

"They don't know. They said they've never, ever seen a case like Kayla's before. They don't know what to make of it. That's part of the reason she's staying in the hospital-they have to consult with other doctors from other hospitals."

"But how does she even _have_ two hundred of these things?" Bobby asked.

"Apparently they're all about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. That's apparently another piece of the puzzle. They're all exactly the same size." Sam snorted derisively. "They're good doctors, but they're treating Kayla like a damn jigsaw puzzle."

"Sam, they have to." John asked. "It's how they'll figure out what's going on."

"I know." Sam said. "I know, it's just really hard."

"How did Kayla take it?" Dean asked. "Does she know?"

"Yeah. She knows. And honestly, she took it better than we did." Sam answered.

"Do you think this is what made her see Art?" John asked.

"Yeah. I think so." Sam said. He chuckled humorlessly and commented, "I feel like shit for saying this, but I actually wish it _had _been Art coming back or something else supernatural. That I could deal with. But this, this feels…" Sam swallowed back tears as he said it. "Hopeless."

"Sam, don't say that." Bobby encouraged. "Just like you told Mary. If you start thinking it's hopeless, Kayla will too."

"I know." Sam said. "I know. I do."

"And follow your own directions." John said. "If it gets to be too much, call us. One of us will go to the hospital and sit with Kayla and let you and Jess take a break. Don't be afraid to ask us for help."

"Thanks, Dad. Thanks."

"What do you need us to do?" Dean asked.

"Just keep Mary. Take her to school, pick her up, until we can at least get a handle on this. Bring her to the hospital tomorrow to see Kayla."

"We'll do that." Bobby said.

Sam nodded. "I should get to the house. Kayla and Jess asked for some stuff."

"Sam, listen. A hospital room's tough for one person to stay in, let alone two. Why don't you and Jess take turns coming here to sleep at night? It won't do Kayla any good if you both end up sick from not getting enough sleep." Bobby suggested.

"We might do that, Bobby. I'll talk to Jess about it tonight." Sam checked the clock and saw that it was close to ten o'clock. "Let me go tuck Mary in."

Sam went up the stairs to the room Mary and Kayla both slept in at Bobby's, only to find her already fast asleep with the book she'd picked out lying open across her chest. Sam walked in and pulled her blanket over her, kissing her cheek and pulling the book away from her. He whispered an apology for not coming up sooner, then flipped off the light in the room and headed out.

Sam started the car and pulled out of the driveway, going down the street towards his own house. He walked inside and started to head up to Kayla's bedroom to get her book, but was stopped when something caught his eye. A large piece of glass was sticking out of the almost full trash can. Sam walked in and picked it up, then noticed that part of the pile remained on the floor where Kayla had dropped it. He remembered teaching the girls years earlier what to do if they dropped glass on the floor. _Don't pick it up with your bare hands. It can cut and hurt you very badly._ The entire scene felt like it had been a lifetime ago.

Sam recalled a memory of Kayla's that he'd seen in a bizarre dream or vision or whatever the proper name for it was called. Kayla had been thirteen, and was so desperate for her parents not to know the real reason that she was hurt, that she had taken a knife and cut her own hand. Sam hadn't understood Kayla's instinct to hide from her parents what had happened to her. But now it made perfect sense. He wanted to hide Kayla's true condition from her, and wanted to guarantee her that she would be okay. She would grow up to be healthy, and strong, and have a family of her own one day. But she was too sick, and the possibility of even having a future with Kayla in it was fading rapidly.

Sam had known pain. But this, the pain and fear that he'd been able to keep under control for Jess and Kayla and Mary and even his family's sake, was too much. It grew inside him, inch by inch, until it felt like it took over completely. Sam felt his breath coming in short pants, and before he knew it, he had slid to the floor to cry.

**Next chapter: Todd comes to visit Kayla at the hospital. The doctors continue their investigation. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I have changed the rating of this story to M because I've decided it will deal a little more than I originally intended with what exactly Art did to Kayla. Nothing graphic or explicit, but the end of this chapter is the reason I upgraded the rating. I won't say what specifically happens because it will spoil the story, but you have been warned. **

After Sam left, Jess found herself taking a long look at Kayla. Despite having slept all day, Kayla was slowly drifting off to sleep again. Jess let her mind wander, back to the days when Kayla was a baby, and she'd sit beside Kayla's bed and watch her sleep. Those days had been about just taking in the fact that the beautiful child sleeping in front of her was _hers_. That she was responsible for her safety, her wellbeing, for the adult she would turn into.

"I can feel you staring at me."

Jess laughed. "I thought you were asleep."

"I slept enough today." Kayla said, turning over and opening her eyes.

Jess sighed. "You want something to eat? You didn't have much lunch or dinner."

"No. I'm not hungry." Kayla said.

"How you feeling?"

"It's weird, Mom. I really feel okay." Kayla said.

"You do?"

"Yeah. I'm just tired." Kayla said. "Like I'm getting over being sick."

"Maybe you are." Jess said hopefully. "Maybe this was just some bad mistake."

"I hope so." Kayla said.

Jess started to ask if there was anything else she could do, but a towering figure came to the door. It was a doctor, average height, with brown hair and brown eyes. He looked to Jess to be a little older than Sam. The doctor knocked on the open door into Kayla's room and smiled.

"Hi there."

"Hi." Jess greeted. "Are you one of Kayla's doctors?"

"I can be." the doctor said, drawing a curious stare from Jess and Kayla. "My names Dr. Whitaker. Steven Whitaker."

"Whitaker? Like Todd Whitaker?" Kayla asked.

"I'm his father." Dr. Whitaker replied. "You must be the famous Kayla my wife and I keep hearing about."

"Well, um…" Kayla said, and Jess smiled when Kayla blushed.

"Hi. I'm Kayla's mom. Jess Winchester."

"Hi." Dr. Whitaker said, shaking Kayla and Jess's hand in turn. "So I hope you don't mind me stopping by. But I saw your name on the patient board and I had to see if you were the same Kayla my son's been talking about."

"Todd told us you were a doctor, but I didn't realize you worked here." Jess said.

"I've been an emergency room doctor since Todd was little." Dr. Whitaker said. "Todd told me you were a stay at home mom. I admire that. I was raised by one, and my wife stayed home and raised Todd while I was in medical school."

Jess nodded. "My husband's a lawyer. He graduated law school when Kayla was just a few months old. I remember the days well."

"Maybe one day soon I can bring my wife by to meet you guys. Especially if Kayla and Todd keep seeing each other."

"I'd like that. Most of my friends have jobs of their own, I could use another mom friend."

Dr. Whitaker looked to Kayla and laughed. "Sorry, Kayla. This must be a little weird for you."

"It's okay." Kayla said. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too, young lady."

"Dr. Whitaker…" Jess started.

"Call me Steve."

"Okay. Steve. Can you help us stay updated on Kayla's condition? It feels a little overwhelming with all the doctors that she's apparently gonna have to have." Jess asked.

"Sure. With your permission, I'll go talk to them now." Steve said. He turned back to Kayla. "Kayla, Todd was wondering why you weren't in school. He's pretty worried. Is it okay with you if I let him come visit?"

"Um, if he wants to. Sure." Kayla said. "Is it okay, Mom?"

"It's alright with me." Jess answered. Anything that could potentially lift Kayla's spirits was well worth it to Jess.

"Well, it was nice to meet you guys. I'll let you get some rest. Kayla, I'll talk to Todd tonight."

"Could you, um, not tell him why I'm in here? I don't want to freak him out. I'm still getting used to it myself." Kayla asked.

"I understand. I can't tell him anything about your condition without your permission and your parents', anyway." Steve took a look at the clock on the wall. "It's late. I'll let you get some rest, Kayla. I'll see you again soon."

"What in the hell?"

Dr. Jackson and Dr. Peel were both getting frustrated, but it was Steve who couldn't believe what was going on now. He had imagined that Kayla had some sort of virus, something that maybe wasn't seen too much but could be cured relatively easily. From the conversation he'd had with her earlier, he could scarcely believe she was alive, much less talking and as responsive as she had been.

"I know. We have no idea what to make of this."

"Do you have any kind of a plan on how to proceed?" Steve asked, still staring at Kayla's MRI results.

"Not a clue." Dr. Peel explained. He started laying out the entire problem, more to help him understand it than anyone else. "In any other situation, we'd take a biopsy. But with this many tumors this evenly spread out, that's a lot more dangerous than normal. We can't just operate on her brain, heart, liver, and every other major organ all at the same time. And besides that, _what _do we take out? We can't just biopsy random ones. What happens if we take one out to biopsy from her liver, and it's benign, but the one next to it is malignant? And what if the spacing of the tumors is significant too, and we starting pulling them out, and that makes some of them bigger?"

"Yeah, yeah. I see that." Steve said in amazement. "Damn. I just talked to her. She seemed fine."

"I just keep thinking about the list of problems this kid could have." Dr. Jackson said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about the symptoms she's already had. Fever. Hallucinations. Dizziness. Probably fatigue. And since they're everywhere, you can basically take your pick. Seizures from the ones on her brain. Worse hallucinations. Infections if there's anything in her bloodstream. Pain if there's any on her bones. Hearing loss. Vision loss. Heart problems. The list goes on." Dr. Jackson said.

Steve shook his head. "I'm starting to second guess my decision to let my son see her. I feel sorry for the girl, but I just don't see any way she'll make it to the end of the year."

"That might be just what she needs."

"I know." Steve sighed. "I gotta get home, guys. Good luck."

"Thanks."

The next day, Sam and Jess were doing their best to keep Kayla's spirits up. John and Dean had shown up early that morning, and Bobby had taken Mary on a 'lunch run', which Kayla knew was actually a trip to get her a present to cheer her up. Her suspicions were confirmed when Bobby came back with a bag from a toy store down the street.

"We got something for you, Kayla. Look."

Kayla pulled out of the bag a stuffed animal, one she recognized as having had years earlier. She'd passed hers on to Mary, and it still sat on Mary's bed. It was a stuffed Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street, and Kayla had loved the one she'd had as a kid. Despite wanting to be seen as an adult, Kayla couldn't help laughing and cuddling the toy close.

"I love it, Mary! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." Mary said.

A knock on the door drew everyone's attention. "Can I come in?"

Kayla smiled. Todd had come to visit. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Come on in, Todd." Jess said. "It was nice of you to bring Kayla flowers."

"Actually, these are for you." Todd said, handing Jess the bouquet of flowers in his hand. "And this…" Todd reached into his pocket and pulled out a Kit Kat bar, handing it over to Mary, "is for you."

"That's my favorite!" Mary exclaimed.

"I know. Your sister told me." Todd said.

"After lunch, Mary. Eat first." Sam said gently.

John loudly cleared his throat, hinting not quite so subtly that they wanted to be introduced to Todd.

"Oh, sorry." Kayla said. "Um, Grandpa, uncle Bobby, uncle Dean, this is my friend Todd."

"Mm hmm." John said, looking Todd up and down the same way that Sam had been doing two nights earlier.

"Dad, you can relax." Sam said, trying to suppress a laugh. "I already interrogated him."

"Sure." John said skeptically. He continued to look at Todd from the chair next to the window in the room, making a mental note to run a background check on not just Todd, but also his famiy.

Jess took pity on the two lovestruck teenagers. "Alright, guys. Let's leave Todd and Kayla alone for a few minutes."

"Aww…." Mary whined.

"Jess…"

"Enough!" Jess said. "We are leaving them alone for a minute. Everybody out."

Jess led all the family out one at a time, and walked out last. A grateful Kayla mouthed 'thank you so much' to her mother. As her grandfather left, keeping his eye on Todd the entire time, Kayla laughed.

"Thanks for staying through that." Kayla said. "I know they're not the easiest group to get along with."

"It's okay. I can tell they love you." Todd remarked. He put his hands in his pocket and said quietly, "I kinda wish I had a family like that."

"What do you mean?" Kayla asked. "I met your dad. He seems really nice."

"Yeah. He is. He's nice to everyone. And he's nice to me. But I just wish it was a little more than that sometimes."

Kayla frowned. "He doesn't spend a lot of time with you?"

Todd shrugged. "I'm used to it by now."

"I'm sorry." Kayla said.

"Well, I didn't come to talk about that." Todd said. "Have you eaten yet?"

Kayla hadn't wanted to admit it to her family, but she'd been feeling miserable all day. Physically, she felt fine, but the worry eating away at her from being in the hospital was causing her to feel a pit in her stomach. Before Todd's visit, she'd been wondering if she should write it down in the journal that her doctor had requested she keep. But, much like their first date at the coffee shop a few days earlier, his presence calmed her like no other could.

"I should be getting home." Todd said eventually. "Visiting hours are almost over."

"Really? I'm surprised my family hasn't come back a dozen times 'forgetting' something."

"They've been roaming the hallways." Todd said.

Kayla snorted. "What? How did you know that and not me?"

"I've seen them every few minutes."

"Wow. Okay. You're probably right." Kayla said. "Thank you for the presents today for my mom and sister. That was really impressive."

"Impressive enough for a kiss?"

Kayla blushed deeply and nodded her head, unable to answer his question verbally. She and Todd shared a brief kiss, leaving her feeling better than she had in years. All thoughts of anything bad happening to her were chased away, filled only with the thought of getting to see Todd again.

But as Kayla slept that night, a deep sense of foreboding returned. The lights were dimmed up and down the hallway, and her father was seated in the chair beside her, snoring lightly. Kayla had fallen asleep dreaming about her and Todd's wedding day. The beautiful Methodist church down the road from her uncle Bobby's house. Her dressed up in the dress her mother had married her father in. Her mother, sister, aunt Jody, and two of her school friends as bridesmaids. Her father joining her in the front area of the church, taking her hand and kissing her cheek and telling her how beautiful she looked, with a tear streaming down his cheek.

Suddenly, a dark cloud that she hadn't seen for years appeared on the horizon. She screamed for her daddy to help her, but he was nowhere to be found. A hand gripped her shoulder and Kayla awoke from her dream, terrified when she realized a hand was holding her mouth shut. When she saw the face of the person standing above her, another scream ripped from her lungs. This wasn't possible.

"Hello, Kayla." Art said with a grin that sickened Kayla to her core. "Long time, no see."


	6. Chapter 6

Sam always felt as if he was gone at the worst times.

He'd been at work when Kayla took her first steps. He'd been at work again when Jess had gone into labor with Mary. Sam loved his life, but just once he wished he could be there the very second that one of his children needed him.

He had been down the hall getting some coffee when he heard the hair raising screaming coming from Kayla's room. He had been there through nightmares with Kayla before, but nothing like this. She was shrieking, calling for him as if she was drowning and he wasn't coming to save her.

When he reached the room, his cup of coffee long since forgotten in the lounge down the hall, there was a nurse there Sam didn't recognize trying to wake Kayla from her nightmare. Kayla was thrashing on the bed, fighting the nurse by swinging, scratching, and even biting. Sam heard the nurse call for a sedative and ran into the room.

"Mr. Winchester, she's dangerous right now…"

"She's not dangerous!" Sam snapped. "She's having a nightmare. Back off."

"She could…"

"She's not going to hurt me, but she thinks you'll hurt her. Now back the hell off! I know what to do here." Sam snapped again.

The nurse threw her hands in the air and backed away. Though it took a good bit of restraint, he didn't touch Kayla. Instead, he leaned over on either side of her, placing the palms of his hand on her bed. He counted to three, Kayla still thrashing beneath him, and cleared his throat before saying forcefully,

"Kayla, wake up."

Kayla calmed a little, but still continued to fight.

Sam said again, with the same calm, firm tone he'd used before, but with slightly more authority, "Kayla Ellen, wake up right now."

Kayla's eyes popped open and she screamed again.

"Shhh. It's okay, Kayla bug. Daddy's here."

Now that Kayla was awake, Sam could get to the part he actually wanted to get to. It killed him that she was in pain, but he loved that he'd figured out how to make her feel better. Kayla was still breathing hard, her panic making it hard for her to focus.

"Kay, look at me, baby."

Kayla's eyes finally wandered to Sam's face. "Daddy?"

"I'm right here. You're safe. Okay?"

"It's just you?"

"Just me and a nurse." Sam said. "You're still at the hospital. Remember?"

"The hosp…" Kayla looked around and saw the walls of the hospital room and the nurse standing in the corner. "Right."

"Okay." Sam held a hand up in the air where Kayla could see it. "It's just me, okay?"

Kayla nodded. "Okay."

Sam gingerly started to stoke Kayla's hair back behind her ears. When she didn't flinch, like she'd used to do before he'd figured out how to wake her out of one of these nightmares, Sam relaxed a little and gave Kayla some time to calm down.

"You want to tell me about it?"

"He was here." Kayla whispered, grabbing Sam's hand and holding it like it was a lifeline.

"Art?"

"Yeah."

The nurse left, and Sam asked Kayla, "You want me to hold you?"

"Yeah." Kayla said.

"Sit up."

Kayla moved up to give Sam room to sit behind her. When he was there, she leaned back and finally started to settle. Her heart stopped racing, her breath went back to normal. But that made the tears start. Sam expected that too, and was prepared. He wrapped both arms around her, holding her close to him without holding on too tightly. It was something he'd perfected over the years, getting Kayla to calm down and talk without saying anything. He felt Kayla start to shake again, and when he looked down, he saw the tears starting to leak out.

"Tell me." Sam prodded gently, wiping her face for her.

"I felt somebody standing over me." Kayla said. "I thought it was you checking on me, then he put his hand over my mouth and said 'Hello, Kayla. Long time, no see.' I thought he…"

"Shhh. It's over. You're safe now." Sam said. "It was just a dream."

"I thought it _was _over." Kayla said. "Am I ever gonna stop being afraid of him?"

Sam sighed. "Listen to me. I know that was scary. And I know it's the first nightmare you've had in a while. But that's a good sign. It's the first one you've had in a while, it means you're getting better."

"It's been three years. Three years. I just wish…"

"Wish what?" Sam asked.

Kayla frowned. "Nothing."

"Come on. Tell me." Sam said. "It's just us."

"I wish I could've confronted him." Kayla admitted. "All he ever saw of me was me being scared of him. I just wish I could've told him I wasn't afraid of him anymore. Maybe kicked him a few times. Everyone keeps telling me how strong I am, I just wish I could've shown it to him."

Sam was grateful Kayla was turned away from him. She couldn't see the look of guilt on his face. He'd never before regretted what he'd had John, Dean, and Bobby do to Art. But it never occurred to him that he might have cheated Kayla out of an opportunity that could have led to her feeling like a stronger person.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"If I ask you something, you promise you'll tell me the truth?" Kayla asked.

Too wrapped up in his own thoughts, Sam answered, "Sure."

"You swear?"

"I swear. What is it?" Sam asked.

Kayla swallowed and sat up again, turning to face him. "Did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Did you kill Art?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Did you kill Art?"

Sam was scrambling. How was he supposed to answer Kayla's question? If he lied to her, she'd believe him easily enough, but he'd feel guilty for it for a long time after. If he told her the complete truth, she may never look at him the same way again.

"Daddy? Please just answer the question. If you did it, I won't be mad or anything. I won't tell anyone. I just want to know the truth."

Taking comfort in the fact that he wasn't _technically _lying to her, Sam answered, "No, baby. I didn't kill him. I wish I had for what he did to you."

"You're not mad I asked you that, are you?"

"No. I get it." Sam said. "It's okay. And I'm sorry you didn't get that chance to confront him. Why don't you go back to sleep?"

"Will you stay till I do?"

"I'll be right here." Sam promised. "All night if you want."

Kayla fell back to sleep, and Sam carefully maneuvered himself off the bed. He got back into the chair and his mind was buzzing. He needed to talk to Jess, but didn't want to leave the room. His phone beeped with a text from Jess, and he got an idea.

_Can't sleep. Is she okay?_

_She had a bad nightmare a little bit ago, but she's back asleep now. I need to talk but I don't want to wake her up. You okay talking like this?_

_Sure. What's up?_

_Kayla asked me tonight if I killed Art. _

There was a long pause, and Sam wasn't sure what that meant.

_Babe?_

_Sorry. I just wasn't sure what to say to that. How'd you answer her?_

_I told her no. Should I have told her the truth?_

_NO. Absolutely not. You did the right thing. _

_But it's a lie. What if she ever finds out what really happened to him?_

_Sam, he hurt her enough. You said yourself she had a nightmare tonight. It's been THREE YEARS, and he's still hurting her. Don't burden her with this. It'll just make her feel guilty._

_Why would she feel guilty?_

_Think about it. It took her months to admit to us what he did to her because she didn't want us to be burdened with it. If we tell her what happened, she'll take on the responsibility for it, no matter how much we tell her not to. I know you feel like you shouldn't lie to her. But if you tell her the truth, it could do more damage. _

_Thanks, babe._

_Feel better?_

_Much. Mary sleeping okay?_

_She's sleeping next to me. She said to tell you thank you for coming home last night. _

_My pleasure. _

_Get some sleep yourself, love. It won't do Kayla any good if you get sick too. _

_Love you xoxo_

_Love you too xoxo_

Sam put the phone away and looked again at Kayla. She was sleeping peacefully now, curled up on the bed holding a pillow to her chest. The sun was coming up in an hour or so, and Sam decided to call Dean and ask him to bring some breakfast rather than going back to sleep. His phone beeped again, and Sam picked it up, assuming it was Jess again. It was Dean.

_I need to see you. Now. _

_I can't. Kayla's just went back to sleep after a nightmare. I promised her I'd be here when she woke up. _

_Sam, it's important. I think I might know what's going on with Kayla. _

_She's sick, Dean. That's what's going on._

_Sam, I think it's more than that. Please, man. _

Sam sighed. _Fine, Dean. Jess will be here in a few hours. I'll leave then But I swore to Kayla I'd be here. This nightmare was bad. _

_That'll work. _

Sam put the phone down and waited impatiently. Kayla woke an hour later, hungry and begging for some breakfast. Jess showed up with Mary, who'd been crying and begging all morning to visit her sister. Dean volunteered for him and Sam to go on a 'food run' as early as they could get away for lunch.

"Dean, what the hell is going on?"

"I think I found something. Read this."

Dean pulled a folded page out of his pocket and handed it to Sam. Sam's eyes got bigger as he read the information in front of him. _A grimke is a supernatural beast of unknown origin. It seems to be related to the djinn, but there has been no proof of that. It pops up in some shape or form in different cultures throughout the world. When someone, mostly a child or young adult, has suffered through a traumatic event, the grimke can collect the emotional energy that resonates off the person, even if it has been years since the actual event happened. This feeding will often make the victim suddenly fall desperately ill, though since the grimke will want to take its time feeding on its victim, it will take days or even weeks to months to kill. _

_It is often difficult to spot a grimke, as they can change their appearance to fade into the background. They could be a random person walking down the street, a nurse in the hospital where the victim goes to be treated, or nearly anyone at all. No one knows what real form a grimke takes, because its speed beats that of even a wendigo, and can be far away before anyone knows it has even left._

"What do you think?"

"I…I think this could be it." Sam said. "How the hell did you find this?"

"I just couldn't believe that she got this sick this fast." Dean said. "I haven't found how to find it or get rid of it, but I'll keep looking."

"This is great, Dean." Sam said, before a sickening feeling crept into him. "Damn it."

"What?"

"I've tried so hard to keep this part of my life away from Kayla and Mary." Sam said. "Now it's right at our back doors."

"I know you did, Sam. And you don't have to tell her this time. Stay here and me and Bobby and Dad'll work on this. We'll call you if we need you."

A tired Sam nearly wept from gratitude. Though Dean had been supportive of Sam building a family, Sam knew he'd never truly understood Sam leaving hunting for good. He also knew Dean disagreed with keeping Jess and Kayla in the dark. But Dean had kept the secret for him, and helped Sam keep the secret from them, and Sam was more appreciative than he knew how to say.

"No chick flick moments." Dean said for the millionth time in their lives when Sam attempted to thank him. "Let's get lunch and get you back to Kay."

Back in Kayla's room, Kayla was amazed at how good she actually felt. She was tired, but couldn't feel any other symptoms. She remembered the nightmare from the night before, but it seemed a distant memory. Could it be possible that whatever was making her sick was going away? Did she dare hope for that?

"Todd!"

Mary jumped up from her seat and ran to the door, leading a nervous Todd inside. Sam and Dean hadn't come back yet, and the only people in the room were Bobby, John, Jess, Mary, and Kayla.

"Hey." Kayla greeted. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in school."

"Not today. It's Saturday." Todd reminded her.

"Oh. Right." Kayla said with a smile. "Sorry. My days are all mixed up."

"It's okay." Todd said.

"Did you need something, son?" John growled.

"Grandpa, please. He just came to see me." Kayla said.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"John, it's okay…" Jess started to say.

"No. Not now."

Jess sighed. "Todd, you can stay for a minute while I talk to Kayla's grandpa outside."

John knew better than to argue, and immediately walked into the hallway.

"Okay. What's going on?" Jess asked.

"Dean thinks he found something that could be making Kayla sick. It could be someone close to her doing it. So it's probably a good idea to limit who's here to see her."

"What do you think is going on?"

"Mrs. Winchester?" Dr. Whitaker and Dr. Peel approached Jess and John from the end of the hallway. "Can we have a word with you and your husband?"

"My husband left a little while ago. Is something wrong?"

"Well, we have good news and bad news." Dr. Peel said. "The bad news is that we still don't have any kind of a treatment plan for Kayla."

"The good news?"

"She gets to go home tonight." Dr. Whitaker said with a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

"She gets to go home tonight."

"What?" Jess asked, amazed. "If you haven't found a way…"

"Can we talk? Together with you and Kayla?" Dr. Peel asked.

"Sure." Jess said. "Come on in. John, we'll talk about this later."

John fought the sigh he wanted to let out. Jess was just as stubborn as he remembered Mary being. He just hoped he could convince Jess to go along with the plan he and Dean had formed. Keep Kayla isolated for what would hopefully be no more than a couple of days. He could see that Todd was a good kid, and maybe that he was even good for Kayla. But right now all that had to take a backseat.

Sam approached the room, feeling better that they had a plan to fight whatever was happening to Kayla but not looking forward to telling her that she couldn't see Todd for a few days. He was surprised to find Kayla getting dressed when they got to the room. Mary ran to Sam, jumping up and down with her excitement.

"Daddy! Kayla gets to come home!"

"What? How?"

"The doctors said she could go home while they keep talking about a way to treat her." Jess said. "She can't go to school though. Has to stay home and I've got to keep a close eye on her."

"Okay." Sam said. "That's good news, I guess."

"Can Todd please come with us?" Kayla begged. "Just to take me home? Please?"

"Not now." Jess said. She saw the look on Sam's face when Kayla made her request, and was more than willing to be the bad guy this time.

"Mom…."

"It's okay, Kay." Todd said. "Your parents are right. You should get some rest."

"I've been resting for days." Kayla said. "I want to spend some time with you."

"Another time, Kayla." Jess said again. "You two say goodbye for now. You can call Todd tonight if you want, but right now it's just you, me, Mary, and Dad."

The car ride home was a nearly silent one. Kayla sat in the back, arms across her chest, fuming. She felt fine. She had been in bed for days and was now going to be in bed for longer. It would take next to no effort just to talk to Todd. She felt better when talking to him. Her entire family knew about her history. Todd didn't. He didn't like her because of what she'd lived through. He liked her because of the person she was. Why couldn't her parents understand that?

Sam parked the car and shared a knowing look with Jess. He hated this too. Despite being sick, Kayla was happier than he'd seen her in a long time. He didn't think the grimke was Todd, but he couldn't take the chance. Suddenly, some of John's actions when Sam was growing up made sense. He couldn't tell Kayla the entire truth about why she couldn't see Todd, but it was making her miserable. Sam turned towards the two girls in the back seat.

"Mary, go inside."

Mary listened, eager to get away from her brooding sister and her silent parents.

"Kay, please listen to me." Sam said. "I'm not trying to be mean."

"Then why can't I see him?"

"It's not forever. It's just for a few days. Please just be patient with us." Sam pleaded. "Please just trust me."

"I feel fine."

"But you aren't fine. And for now, we want you to rest. If you don't get any sicker in a week, we'll let Todd come visit." Sam promised.

"I have to have my assignments from school. Can he bring those to me?"

"No. I'll do that." Sam said.

Kayla scoffed. "I knew I was right."

"What does that mean?"

"Do you really think I just met him and brought him home the first time we did anything together? He's been here for a month. He asked me out the first day we met. But I wouldn't go."

"Why not?"

"Because I knew you'd do something like this. I knew you'd make up some reason we couldn't see each other and keep us apart. And you know what? He was cool with that. He was fine with it. I finally decided to give him a chance. And sure enough, what happened? You're not letting us see each other."

"Kay…"

"My name's Kayla. And I'm going to my room."

Kayla shoved open the car door and ran inside, leaving a frustrated Sam and an exhausted Jess in the car. "Sam, we need to talk."

"About what?" Sam asked as he rubbed his forehead to fend off a coming headache.

"I think we should tell Kayla the truth."

Sam stopped and glared at Jess. "No."

"Sam…"

Sam surprised both himself and Jess with the force of his reaction. He slammed a hand into the steering wheel and shouted, "Damn it, Jess! No!"

"You want to rethink your response there?"

Sam took a breath and said, "I'm sorry. I am. But I'm not telling Kayla about the supernatural."

"Why are you so against it?"

"Because it ruined my life. It took my mother away from me and nearly cost me my father and brother too. I fought so damn hard to have a normal life, and I will not let my children get tainted by it too."

"Sam, she's already under attack by something supernatural. Don't you think telling her the truth will keep her safer?"

"No, Jess. Just no. I really don't like the fact that I had to tell you, but I'm definitely not okay with the girls knowing. Please just respect my wishes on this. Please. I'm begging here."

"Okay." Jess said. "Okay, I won't."

"Thank you. Thank you. I mean that. Dean and my dad will figure this out, and I'll go with them if I have to. But Kayla's faced enough monsters in her life. I don't want to add more to it."

"I get it." Jess said. "I've got you."

"Should I go talk to Kayla?"

"Let me go first. Soften her up a bit." Jess advised. "Wait, what is this thing you think's after her?" Sam gave her the paper from Dean, and Jess nodded. "I'll go talk to her."

Jess found Kayla sitting in her room, on her bed, holding her pillow and glaring at her feet as if they'd offended her personally. "Can I come in?"

"You're apparently the only company I get for a week, so sure."

Jess sighed. "Kay, please don't be mad at us for this."

"I'm basically grounded for being sick. Why shouldn't I be mad at you?"

"You're not grounded…"

"So I can leave the house? Go see Todd? Go see my friends? They can come here?"

"I see your point. And I get it. But it's only for a few days. Maybe not even that long."

"There's something you're not telling me." Kayla said. "You want me to trust you, but you're keeping something back from me."

"Yes." Jess admitted. "Yes, there is something more to this, and no, I won't tell you what it is. When you have kids of your own one day, you'll understand."

"No. I won't. I don't understand lying to me."

"We haven't lied to you."

"Keeping something out of the conversation isn't lying?" Kayla asked. 

"If it is, then you should be in trouble too." 

"What does that mean?"

"Why didn't you tell us about Todd before that first night you brought him home?"

Kayla opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't think of what to say. Jess had a point.

"Look, I know it's frustrating. Just like you _aren't _in trouble for not telling us about Todd, there's just some things we can't tell you. Now you aren't grounded. You don't have to stay in your bed. You can watch TV, you'll have your homework to do, it'll go by quick. Okay? I promise."

"Fine." Kayla huffed.

"Hey. Look at me." Jess said, grabbing Kayla's cheek. Kayla looked up and spotted the tears starting to leak out. "What are you afraid of?"

"What's wrong with me?" Kayla asked. "Mom, why am I so sick?"

"I don't know, baby. But we're going to do everything we can to figure it out. Okay?"

Kayla nodded. "Okay, mom."

"Is there anything else about Todd you haven't told us?"

"Like what?" Kayla asked.

"Was that coffee shop your only date?"

Kayla started to answer, until Sam appeared at the door, her cell phone in his hand and an angry look on his face. "What the hell is this?"

"What is what?" Kayla asked.

Sam showed her the text, and Kayla wanted to sink through the floor. It was a reminder text from the CVS up the street from their house. Her birth control prescription was ready.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So, this chapter was the original idea for this story. Sam finds out that sixteen-year-old Kayla is on birth control. He freaks out and way overreacts, causing the two of them to have a massive fight that brings up, of course, long buried issues around Kayla's past. **

**Warning-things get intense here. Kayla reveals to her parents about the ugly voice she used to hear in her head, and about the fact that she considered committing suicide. If that makes you uncomfortable, please don't read. Bitter things are said on both sides, but mostly from Kayla. I **_**am**_** still working the Kayla being sick story-this fight does and will tie into it. Keep this in mind, though-this chapter is **_**only **_**the fight. The resolution, as well as the end of the story, are coming in time. **

"Dad, please don't freak out about this." Kayla said, trying to keep her father calm as she explained what was going on.

Sam liked to think of himself as a normally calm person. He knew Jess disagreed to a point. She had told him before that he was reactive when he was stressed or tired, and that he overreacted when he thought something might be wrong with one or both of the girls. Sam had tried to take that to heart, but there were times it was impossible. 

Like at that very moment.

"Don't freak out about this? There's only one reason to be on birth control, Kayla."

"Actually, Sam, no, there's not." Jess said, trying to stop the argument in its tracks.

"What's the reason, Dad?" Kayla said, Sam's unspoken accusation making her bristle and abandon all attempts to be reasonable. "Come on. Say it."

"You know the reason! And are we back to this now, Kayla? Really?"

"Back to what?"

"Keeping secrets from me and your mother."

"That's not fair." Kayla said, wounded.

"Sam, stop…"

"Jess, this is between me and Kayla." Sam snapped.

Jess held her hands up in surrender, and stuck close by in case things got out of hand.

Sam took the cell phone and put it in his pocket. "You just lost this for the entire week you're in here. And you're not seeing Todd again. Ever."

"No way!" Kayla shouted. "You're not even listening to me!"

"You hid being on birth control. You're too young to be sleeping with anyone…"

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?" Kayla shrieked.

She jumped up from the bed and stood nearly toe to toe with her father. Sam, stunned at her change from the sulky teenager she'd been just minutes before, stood mute, as he realized with startling clarity what he'd just done. But Kayla was far from finished.

"Don't you think I know I'm too young to be sleeping with anyone? Don't you think I've known that ever since I was thirteen and didn't have any choice in it?"

A deeply remorseful Sam tried to touch a hand to Kayla's shoulder and apologize. "Kay, I'm sorry…"

But Kayla flinched away from him, her eyes now brimming with fury the likes of which neither parent had ever seen. "No. Don't touch me. You come in here starting to scream at me about something you know nothing about. You're not getting away with it with a simple apology. You're gonna shut up and listen to me, or I'm going out the door and moving back to Grandpa's for good."

Sam swallowed hard. Kayla had been forced to live with John for a few months when she was thirteen and fourteen, when her behavior had spiraled out of control at home and her parents had been at a complete loss of what to do. Grounding, talking to her, and punishing Kayla had been of next to no effect. Her behavior would get better for a little while, before reverting back to what it had been before. The months at John's had improved Kayla's behavior drastically, but had caused all of them needless pain because Kayla had felt like she couldn't tell them what had happened to her with Art. It had nearly destroyed any relationship between the three of them, and the decision was one of Sam's biggest regrets.

"For your information, Mom knew I was on birth control. I have been since right after you guys moved back to South Dakota."

"What?" Sam asked, looking to Jess for confirmation. His heart sank when Jess nodded.

"She not only knew, she put me on it. When my prescription was renewed this time, we ended up being able to get it for free, so mom set it up so that I'd get the texts they were ready and I could go pick it up myself."

"Why wouldn't either of you tell me about this?"

"Because I was afraid you'd react exactly the same way you're reacting right now." Kayla said. "And for your information, there's _two _reasons I'm on it. One, my periods were really heavy and making me really sick for days at a time. The doctor suggested it to make them lighter and easier for me to handle. And two, because I was so scared of someone like Art coming back and trying to hurt me again that I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to keep from getting pregnant if it did."

A surprised Jess said nothing. Kayla had never admitted the second reason to her.

"So, it's nice to know you think that after Art, I'm stupid enough to have sex before I'm ready. But I've got a newsflash for you, Dad. You just killed any chance that I might come to you and talk to you about anything boy related ever again. Or talk to you about anything deeper than the weather."

"Kay, please…"

"And another thing. You said you forgave me for everything I did before I told you about Art. Was that a lie?"

"Of course it wasn't."

"So it's okay for you to just throw that back in my face when you think something's going on? 'Are we back to this now? Keeping secrets from me and your mother?' If we're doing that, fine. I'll let you in on a real secret. Do you remember asking me once if I'd ever thought about killing myself?"

"Yes." Sam said simply, a lump growing in his throat.

"I lied. But it wasn't because of anything Art did to me."

"What was it about?" Jess asked, speaking for the first time since the argument had really gotten started.

"A couple days after I started school here, we had a pop quiz in one of my classes. I failed it and asked to be excused to the bathroom. My teacher found me in there crying. I told her I was crying because I didn't want to take the quiz home, because I didn't want Grandpa to be upset about it. But she kept pressing, and I finally told her the truth. I told her everything. About how I'd been sent to live with Grandpa because I'd been acting so bad at home. About how bad I missed my parents and how much I wanted to prove to them that they could trust me to come home." Kayla furiously wiped tears away with her shirt sleeve. She could see her father's efforts not to reach over and hug her, and she just wanted to end the fight then and there.

"What happened, Kay?" Jess asked.

"The teacher was Mrs. Rinder. She ripped up my quiz and told me I could write a paper to make up for it. She helped me get caught up. She's the reason I started making straight A's again." Kayla said. "But somebody overheard me talking to her. They spread a rumor around the school that you guys had sent me away because you didn't love me or want me anymore. I got teased for it for days, until I finally started to believe it. I started to think to myself that if my own mom and dad didn't want me, then I really must not be worth anything."

"You didn't do it." Sam said, and Kayla could hear the question behind it mixed in with the relief.

"Only because I knew it would hurt Grandpa if I did." Kayla answered.

"Just Grandpa?" Jess asked.

"He's the only one I felt like really cared back then." Kayla admitted. "I had this…voice going in the back of my mind back then. It was Art's voice, telling me I was stupid for thinking you two cared about me, telling me I was ugly and worthless. And I believed it. And when that kid started that rumor at school, it ramped up. I didn't feel like I could talk to anyone, so I headed out to jump off the roof of the school. Then Grandpa came and got me. There was a storm coming and he didn't want me to have to walk home in it. I heard him calling my name, and he came running up the sidewalk. He gave me a hug and I knew I couldn't do it."

Sam knew all about Kayla's ugly voice. He'd had the unfortunate experience of hearing it himself through a bizarre…dream? vision? He hardly knew what to call it, but he'd been able to not only see, but feel, a few of Kayla's memories from the time Art had hurt her the first time to the time she'd been sent to live with John. He thought he'd known all about what Kayla had gone through. But apparently there were depths of it even Kayla hadn't touched yet.

"My point is this. I never felt the need to hurt myself because of what Art did to me. I did feel the need to do it, however brief, that day that I was going to jump off the roof, because of what _you_ did to me. But I knew it would hurt you for me to admit that, and I knew then and I know now that you feel bad about it. So I never brought it up to make you feel bad. So don't do that to me."

"I'm sorry." Sam said again. 

"Well, sorry's not enough." Kayla said, walking around her father to leave the room.

"Kay, wait…"

"Let her go." Jess said. She turned and spoke to Kayla's retreating form. "Don't leave the yard."

If Kayla heard, she didn't acknowledge Jess's instruction. But an angry Jess didn't make Kayla repeat the instruction back to her as she might have done under normal circumstances. She felt like an idiot for not stepping in, but Kayla's revelation had rocked her to her core. Jess turned to Sam, who was past guilt. He was remorseful and upset, the tears flowing freely now.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried to tell you to shut up. But no. It has to be your way or no way. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't."

"You've got that damn right." Jess said angrily. "Sam, I am not crazy about the thought of Kayla being sexually active. But if she was, after the way you just reacted, do you really think she would tell you? Do you think she should?"

"No."

"Exactly. She needs to feel safe to tell us things, Sam. If she doesn't, then there's no reason for her _not_ to move back in with her father. You two have had your troubles. But Kayla looks up to you. And you may not have used the word with her. If you had, I would have left your ass ten minutes ago without a second thought. The only reason I'm still standing here is because I don't think you realize what you really did."

"What I really did?"

"Sam, you might as well have called her a slut."

"What…? I didn't…?"

"Not directly. But that son of a bitch told her that it was all her fault. That she seduced him. I'd bet money on the fact that he called her that. Sam, she is a teenage girl. She gets enough messages about sex without you yelling at her that she's too young to have it. She looks up to you. Hearing that accusation from you, just imagine what that did to her today."

"Mommy? Daddy?"

Jess turned to the door to see Mary standing there. "What is it, baby?"

"Kayla left."

"What? What do you mean Kayla left?" Sam asked.

"She took the picture of her and Grandma off the wall and went outside. She was crying real hard, so I tried to follow her, but she told me to go away. I looked outside, but I couldn't see her."

Sam's guilt ratcheted up another notch. Kayla had done something she hadn't done in years. It had happened before, when she'd been hurting and scared and felt like no one would understand. It had caused friction in the family before, and she'd promised not to do it anymore. But this time, Sam could barely blame her, even as he left the room to grab his keys and go look for her.

Kayla had run away.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So, I'm sorry this update took so much longer than normal. But it's longer than I anticipated it being. Plus, I really debated whether or not the twist at the end would happen or not. If I included it, it would make the story drag on another chapter or two at least. But, in the end, when I looked at my outline for this story, I felt like an important chunk of it would be missing if I didn't include it. **

**I **_**will **_**start tying all of Kayla's symptoms, Todd, and the twist at the end together. Promise. **

Sam ran outside, grabbing his car keys on the way out. He was at his car, about to climb in, when he saw it. He had his hand on the driver's side door, about to start the car and drive off, when he spotted it. The red polka dot pattern of the blouse Kayla had worn home from the hospital. She was sitting in a beach chair just off their front porch, leaning forward with her face in her hands. Crying.

Sam closed the door to the car and walked over slowly. Though Kayla had inherited most of what Jess called Sam's 'quirks', especially his temper when she was upset, Sam couldn't believe how much she looked like her mother. In fact, the blouse Kayla was wearing was the one Jess had worn on their first date. Sam allowed himself a half smile at the memory, then finally he was next to the porch.

"We thought you ran."

Kayla looked up and wiped her face, taking a deep breath before she spoke. "I told you I wouldn't."

The deep, gut wrenching guilt turned itself up inside Sam. "Can I sit?"

"Please leave me alone." Kayla said, not looking up.

"Kay, I'm not here to fight." Sam promised. "I came to apologize."

"That won't help."

"I know." Sam said sincerely. "But I'd like to try anyway."

Kayla didn't respond, just sniffled and leaned back to hear what he had to say. Sam took a seat and pulled out the little used handkerchief he kept in his pocket. He'd joked once when Dean had seen it that living with three women made it necessary because 'unexpected crying is a real thing, Dean.' Kayla blew her nose and held it in her hand tightly. Sam had taken note of that years ago, as well, another reason he was grateful he kept the handkerchief around. When Kayla was upset, truly upset and not just sad or annoyed, she didn't want to be touched. It helped her talk to have something solid in her hand that she could hold onto.

"I'm sorry, Kay. I jumped to conclusions, and I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry."

"Why would you think that?" she asked, her voice clogged by more tears.

"Because I'm an idiot." Sam said truthfully. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, honey."

"I know." Kayla said. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you. Don't be mad at Mom. I asked her not to."

Sam sighed. "Honey, I'm not mad you kept it from me."

"You're not?"

"No. Not really. I get it. You're sixteen. There's some stuff that's just easier to talk about with Mom. I get that."

"Then why'd you blow up at me?"

Sam sighed. Time to face the truth. "Honestly? Because I don't always let my brain finish thinking before I start talking. Or yelling in this case. I should have asked you what was going on before I said anything. I'm sorry."

Kayla nodded. She wanted to, as her grandfather would put it, 'make a stink' about Sam reading her texts, but she was too tired. "Okay."

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked.

"I still don't get why you won't let me see Todd this week."

Just like Kayla was too tired to argue with Sam over reading texts, Sam was too tired to be irritated with Kayla continuing to argue with him. "Honey, it's not forever."

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" Sam asked.

"Treat me like I'm not old enough to understand what's going on with my own life." Kayla said. "It's so annoying."

Again, Sam was having a new appreciation for his father. He'd often been frustrated with John telling Sam 'you're too young' or to 'stop asking so many questions', even after Sam had found out the truth about the supernatural. He got it now. He got why his father and even Dean kept many of the truly grisly or scary details of their hunts to themselves. But, in the half second that he started to try to cover up the real truth, Sam decided on a different track.

"Okay. I'm going to tell you."

Stunned that her plan seemed to be working, Kayla asked, "What?"

"I'm going to tell you. But I need you to be an adult about it, and when I tell you, I need you to accept it and not fight me anymore on seeing Todd. Okay?"

"Okay." Kayla said.

"So here it goes. You know those phones on the wall at your uncle Bobby's that you've asked me about before?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that has to do with the job that your grandpa, uncle Dean, and uncle Bobby do."

"Their job? Isn't grandpa retired?"

"He is. Mostly." Sam said. "See, sweetie, when I was growing up, your grandpa would take cases."

"What kind of cases?"

"Cases that the police couldn't do anything about." Sam said.

"Like what?"

Sam hated turning his authoritative voice on when he was trying to make peace with Kayla, but he felt obligated at the moment. "That I'm still not going to tell you. I _will _tell you that if you ever press grandpa or your uncles for details, or you tell your little sister about this, you will be in the biggest trouble you've ever been in. It will make the night I caught you at that party when you were thirteen look easy. Do you hear me, Kayla?"

Kayla gulped. Sam hadn't spanked her often when she was younger, and he hadn't done it at all in over three years, but she doubted it was an empty threat. She shrank against the chair a little.

"I won't say anything."

"Okay. Good. Anyway, because of that, your uncle and I think that someone, or something, is trying to make you sick on purpose."

"What?" Kayla asked. "Someone's doing this to me?"

"We're pretty sure they are. Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know. But until we figure this out, we need to keep you isolated."

"It's not Todd…."

"I don't think so, either. But we have to be sure." Sam said. "So that's why we want you to stay here and not see anyone. I'm sorry, I know it's tough, I know it's frustrating, but that's the way it is right now."

"You promise it's not permanent?" Kayla asked. "I can see him after this is all over?"

"Yes." Sam said, biting back the _assuming it isn't him_ that he really wanted to say. "Yes, once this is over, you can see him again."

"Thank you, Dad." Kayla said. "Thanks."

"My pleasure." Sam said. "Does that mean you forgive me?"

"Yeah, sure." Kayla grinned. "Why not?"

"Gee, thanks." Sam answered, rolling his eyes and making Kayla laugh for the first time all day. But something else was bothering Sam. Kayla still looked like something was wrong, like there was something she was burying and didn't want to talk about. "Is something else wrong?"

Kayla sighed. "I want to ask you something. And I want you to tell me the truth."

"Okay. If I can."

Kayla smiled and bit her bottom lip. "Forget all the stuff about me being your little girl and having to protect me and all that. Just for a second. No jokes. Do you like Todd?"

"Yes." Sam said, surprising even himself that he was being honest. "Yes, I do."

"Good." Kayla said, relieved.

"Kay, you know me giving Todd a bit of a hard time…"

"A _bit_?" Kayla asked.

Sam smiled. "Okay. You know me giving Todd a very hard time has nothing to do with me not wanting you to meet someone that you care about. Right?"

"Then why do you do it?"

"Here's the thing. I want you to meet someone. I do. My life would've been terrible without your mom. But there's a problem. I want you to meet someone who's good enough for you."

"Why's that a problem?" Kayla asked.

"Because there's no such person." Sam said. "There's no one on this planet, in my opinion, that is good enough for you. I'm sorry, but that can't and never will change."

"Even when I was acting crazy all those months?"

"Even then." Sam said. "Why do you like Todd so much?"

"Why?"

"Yeah. Tell me what it is you like about him." Sam prodded.

"You might not like it."

Surprised, Sam asked, "What do you mean I might not like it?"

Kayla took a breath and answered, "Well, I know you and Mom think I'm this really strong and courageous person after what happened with Art. I know Grandpa and uncle Dean and uncle Bobby think that too. But Todd thinks that about me, and he doesn't know anything about…that."

Sam was stunned. "Let me get this straight. You think that the only reason we think you're strong, and courageous, and beautiful, and so many other things that we think about you is only because of that?"

"Well, yeah."

"Baby, I am so sorry for that." Sam said. "I've always thought that about you. Always."

"Really?"

"Yes." Sam laughed as thoughts of Kayla's courage came flooding into his mind. "Do you know the first thing I think about when I look at you?"

"What?"

"Do you remember when you were eight? And Mom was in the hospital after she had Mary?"

"Yeah. I remember I ran away from you to get to her."

"That is what I think about when I think about you being brave. You didn't let me or anyone stop you from getting to your mom. Or when you were two and your Mom and Grandma were freaking out over that big spider in the living room."

"Spider?"

"Yeah. There was a big wolf spider in the living room. You were playing on the floor, and when you saw your mom was scared of it, you got up, walked over to it, and smashed it with your bare foot with no hesitation at all. You weren't even out of diapers yet." After Sam had a laugh at the memory, he said to Kayla, "Art has nothing to do with the way I see you. You've always been a strong person. Always. Someone that I admire."

Kayla blushed. "Stop it. You're gonna make me cry again."

"Only if you promise to put it out of your head that that's the only reason all of us think a lot of you."

"I will." Kayla said. She took a deep breath and said, "I guess we should go back inside."

"Yeah. Let's do that."

"Dad? Are you gonna be here this week?"

"I am. I had three weeks unused paid vacation at work. I called them and asked to take all of it."

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yeah. I've missed you lately."

Sam nodded. "I've missed you too. I know I've been working a lot more."

"Well, you're here now." Kayla said. She stood up and sat next to Sam on the porch, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Bug." Sam said. He sat holding on to Kayla for a few minutes, then reluctantly agreed with her. "Come on. Let's get inside and watch a movie. Your choice."

Shocked at how relaxed Kayla was when she came back in, Jess decided to forgive Sam too, and the fight was all but forgotten by them. The night was blissfully normal. Sam gave in to Mary's begging and ordered pizza, making her get her bath and PJs on while they waited for the delivery. Kayla got on hers, and an hour after the movie started, the two of them were asleep on the living room couch between their parents. Rather than dragging them to bed, Sam and Jess simply repositioned them on the couch and tucked them in, heading to bed themselves. Sam checked in with Dean and John before falling asleep, but they hadn't made any progress with the search for the grimke. Sam laid his head down and fell asleep.

"Daddy."

Sam stirred in the bed, not wanting to get up. "Mary, you don't have school today. Go back to bed, honey."

"Daddy."

"Mary…"

When Sam opened his eyes, he nearly fell off the bed in shock. Kayla was standing there, grin on her face from ear to ear. She was wearing the same pajamas as the night before, but now they were way too big. She clapped her hands and held up her arms for Sam to pick her up.

"Sam, what's wrong…? What the hell!?"

"Mommy, you said a bad word." Kayla reprimanded, throwing her hands on her hips, her dramatic gesture undercut by the sleeves that now went all the way down to her feet.

"Kay? What happened to you?"

"What you talkin' bout? Nuffin happen to me." Kayla said, looking down and checking herself out to make sure. "I's okay."

"Bug, how old are you?"

Kayla grinned again and held up three fingers. "I'm fwee."


	11. Chapter 11

"Mommy, why my clothes so big?"

Jess, who'd been staring at Kayla the same way Sam had been doing, suddenly shook herself out of it. "Come here, baby. I'll pull the sleeves up for you."

Kayla climbed on the bed between her parents and gave her arms to her mother. Jess carefully pulled the sleeves up on Kayla's pajamas, and Kayla took the opportunity to grab her mother's neck in a fierce hug. Still feeling like it was a dream, Sam had said nothing so far."Daddy? Why you so quiet?"

"What?"

"You quiet. How come?" Kayla asked again.

"Sorry, baby. Just tired, I guess."

Kayla pouted a little, and Sam's heart fluttered. "Daddy, I's sad."

"Why?"

"You not hugged me yet. You promised you always hug me in the morning and 'fore I go to bed."

"Well, I think I can fix that. Come here."

Kayla grinned and climbed over to her daddy. Sam embraced her and held her tight, and for a moment the bizarreness of the entire situation mattered none.

"How's that? Better?" Sam asked.

"Better." Kayla said. But she quickly shook Sam out of the novelty of it all. "Daddy, who's the girl sleeping on the couch with me?"

"Um, she's…She's a friend. Her name is Mary."

"Oh. Okay." Kayla said.

Sam smiled; he sometimes missed the days of Kayla just accepting his word for things. "Why don't you stay in here with Mommy for a second?"

"Where you going?"

"I have to call your uncle Dean for a minute. It's nothing. Just stay here, okay?"

"Okay. Mommy, will you braid my hair?"

"You bet I will. Come on, let's go in the bathroom and brush it first.""Hey, Jess? I'm gonna talk to Mary too."

Jess nodded and picked up Kayla. "Let's go, baby."

Sam walked into the living room, where Mary was just waking up. She was sitting up and yawning, running a hand through her hair. Not the morning person in the family, Mary barely acknowledged it when her father sat next to her on the couch.

"Hey, Mary."

"Hi." Mary said, yawning.

"Listen. I need to talk to you about Kayla."

That got Mary's attention. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Well, sort of."

"Sort of? Where is she?"

"Here's the thing, sweetheart. Kayla woke up this morning…" Sam struggled to find the right word, when he still couldn't explain it himself. "Different."

"Different? How different?"

"She thinks she's younger than she is. And she looks different."

"What's going on?" Mary asked. "Is Kayla sick or not?"

"She's still sick. But I wanted to prepare you. She doesn't remember you, honey."

"Why not?" Mary asked.

"Well, she thinks she's three years old. Not sixteen. And you were born when she was eight. So she doesn't remember you. I just wanted you to know before you saw her."

"So, it's just 'cause she's still sick? She'll remember me when she gets better?"

"Yeah. She will. I just didn't want to hurt your feelings or anything like that. Kayla still loves you, she just…"

"I get it, Daddy. It's okay." Mary said. "Can I help?"

"Actually, yeah, you can. I need you to be her big sister for a little while. Can you do that?" Sam asked. "So I can focus on figuring out how to get Kayla better?"

"So you want me to like, play with her and stuff? Like she does with me?"

"Exactly."

"I got it, Daddy." Mary said.

"That's my girl." Sam smiled. "Mommy's in the bathroom braiding Kayla's hair. Why don't you go help?"

"I will."

"One more thing, honey. We can't tell anyone about this, other than uncle Dean and uncle Bobby and Grandpa. So until we figure it out, I'm gonna keep you here and out of school. Okay?"

"Okay." Mary said. "I won't say anything."

"Good girl. Go on, go help Mommy."

As Mary walked away, Sam pulled out his phone and texted Dean. _Drop the research and get here NOW. You, Bobby, and Dad. You'll never believe this if I tell you over the phone. _He put the phone away and thought about how to proceed. Deciding he couldn't do anything about it right at the moment, he started making breakfast for everyone. Kayla had a mouth full of pancake when the front door opened.

"Sam?" Dean called from the living room.

Before Sam could answer, Kayla gasped and called from the kitchen. "Uncle Beanie!"

Dean walked into the kitchen, John and Bobby following close behind. All three men had an identical look on their face.

"Granpa! Uncle Baby! You want some pancakes?" Kayla asked, showing them her fork. "They's really good. Daddy made 'em."

"Um, not right now, baby girl." Dean said. "Thanks, though."

"Okay." Kayla said, returning to her plate.

"Guys? Can I talk to you in the living room?"

"Yeah, Sam. Sure." John said, still staring at Kayla.

The men went to the living room, while Jess and Mary entertained Kayla at the table. Bobby was the first to speak.

"What the hell happened, Sam?"

"I don't know. Kayla came into our room and woke us up like that." Sam said. "Sorry I sprung it on you guys, but I didn't think it was exactly something to call or text to you."

"It's okay, son. We were actually planning to come over anyway. We found some new information on the grimke."

"You know who it is?"

"No. But we have a lead on how to find it." John explained. He pulled out the book he had with him and showed a passage to Sam. "It's someone connected to Art."

"What?" Sam asked as he read over the passage. "The only family he had was his wife."

"We checked on that. She's remarried and moved with her new husband to Brazil."

Sam scoffed. "Got as far away from this as she could, huh?"

"Can you blame her?" Bobby asked.

"Anyway, it's not her. Bobby has a hunter friend that works down there and he asked him to check into it. She's happy and healthy down there, so no chance it's her."

"Wait. Art told me once he had a sister. Said she died right after she was born."

"Okay. How's that help us?" Bobby wondered.

"Well, what if she didn't?" Sam asked. "It's all we got to go on."

"I'll look into it." Bobby said.

"I'll keep looking into how to beat this thing." Dean promised.

Before Sam could respond, the sound of pounding feet from the kitchen, followed quickly by a loud thump and a wail drove Sam to running. Kayla was on the floor in the kitchen, face down, with her mother hovering over her trying to help her up.

"Shhh. It's okay, Bug."

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"She got off the chair to bring me her plate and she tripped over her pants legs." Jess explained. "Come on, honey. Sit up and let Mommy see."

"It hurts!" Kayla cried, sitting up and rubbing her nose.

"I know. Just let me see." Kayla pulled her hand back, and was quickly examined by her mother and father both. "I think you're okay. Just sore."

"Kiss it?" Kayla asked pitifully.

"Of course." Jess planted a kiss on the top of Kayla's nose. "Better?"

"Daddy? You too."

"Come here." Sam said, picking up the distraught toddler. He kissed her sore nose and hugged her again, thinking to himself how much he missed the days where a kiss from Daddy could take away whatever hurt Kayla was feeling.

"Can Grandpa get a hug too?"

"Yeah. I got lots." Kayla said, throwing her arms out towards John.

Before Kayla let John go, Jess suggested, "Mary? You know that bag of clothes we packed away because they were too little for you?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you take Kayla and look through it? Maybe it'll have something that'll fit her a little better."

"Uh oh." Kayla suddenly said, looking down and blushing.

"What happened, Bug?" Sam asked.

"I think we have a little leak." John said. He turned and Sam saw the side of his shirt was wet.

"I sorry, Grandpa. I forgotted."

"It's okay, little one. Go on with Mary. I'll go get you some pull-ups."

"Thank you, John." Jess said, grateful. "Maybe a change of clothes or two with that? Size 3T or 4T? And a cheap pair of shoes?"

"No problem." John said. "Sam, can I borrow a clean shirt?"

"Yeah, Dad."

Five minutes later, after another insistent hug from Kayla and convincing her he'd be back when she begged to go with him, John went to the door to leave. He was nearly knocked down by whoever was at the door.

"Todd."


	12. Chapter 12

"Todd."

"Oh, hi. I was about to ring the doorbell…"

"Todd?" Sam heard Todd's voice and immediately came to the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to bring Kayla her schoolwork."

"Already? It's eleven in the morning." Sam said.

"They let us out early. A water pipe busted at school and it ended up flooding most of the floors. We're out today and tomorrow."

"Oh. Okay. Um, thanks." Sam said, holding a hand out for Kayla's work.

"Could I, maybe, give it to her myself?" Todd asked. "I know you wanted me to give you a couple days…"

"She's asleep." Sam said. "Maybe later, if she feels like it."

"Sure." Todd said, disappointed. He reached into the backpack he had with him and handed Sam a folder. "Mr. Winchester? Did I do something wrong?"

"What? No. Why would you ask that?"

"It just seems like you don't want me to see Kayla."

Sam sighed. He'd just gone through this conversation with Kayla the day before, and he didn't feel like rehashing it. "It's not you, Todd. I just really want Kayla to get some rest. If you're here, I'm afraid she'll just stay up talking and won't rest. Okay?"

"Yes, sir."

Sam smiled. "Todd, she fought me the entire way home about this. I made a deal with her. If she's not sicker in a week, and she gets her rest, she can see you again in a week. I know that's forever in teenage days, but please just respect my wishes. Okay?"

"Okay, I will."

"Thank you."

"Can she call me?" Todd asked. "Please? I just got worried because I heard her mom said she could call me and she didn't."

_Shit, _Sam thought. He did remember Jess making that promise. "She just didn't feel well after we got back last night, Todd. That's all. If she feels up to it later, I'll let her call. But like I said, she's really tired."

Todd looked like he didn't buy the story, but he nodded anyway. "Yes, sir. Thanks."

"Dad? You were gonna go pick up that stuff for me?" Sam prodded.

"Yeah. I'll be back." John said, keeping his eyes on Todd as he started to walk back to his car. Bobby and Dean had driven over in the Impala.

"Dad, tell Dean I'll come by to help him later."

"No. You won't." John said, turning back around. "You stay here with Kayla. She needs you. We've got this."

Sam smiled. John had given up ordering him around years before, but Sam could hear the underlying command in his father's voice. _Take care of your kids. Go be the daddy I wouldn't have been in this situation. We've got the legwork. _"Thanks, Dad."

Todd left, and Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted for now. He saw his father talking to Todd at the car as he closed the door, and noticed that Todd looked dejected as he walked away. Sam really hoped that John wasn't chasing Todd away for good, but that was a problem he'd have to deal with at another time.

"Surprise!"

Kayla had come out of Mary's room, dressed in an interesting outfit. It was still a little too big for her, but it fit much better than the pajamas she'd been wearing before. She had on a rainbow tutu that Jess had made for Mary the year before for her Halloween costume. Under that was a pair of turquoise sequined leggings and a pair of pink socks. Her shirt was a gray one with a pink unicorn on it. Sam smiled.

"Look at you, my little unicorn."

"You like it, Daddy?"

"I love it." Sam said, chuckling when he remembered Kayla's penchant for dramatic entrances at that age.

"Daddy, what we gonna do today?" Kayla asked. "You don't have to go to work?"

"Nope. I'm all yours today. Why don't you pick what we do?"

One tea party, one lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and one short video later, Kayla and Mary both were taking a nap on the same couch they'd fallen asleep on the night before. Sam pulled a blanket on top of Mary, remembering that Kayla as a toddler had always refused to nap with a blanket. _Blankets are for sleep at night, Daddy. Not during the day. _He sat on the edge of the bed, watching them both sleep for a few minutes, before Jess came in with a cup of coffee.

"Thanks."

"Sure. Figured we could both use it." Jess said. She stood next to Sam watching both girls. "It's nice, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Being able to fix things with a kiss and rolling up her sleeves."

"That it is." Sam answered. "I wish we could keep her this way."

"I don't."

"Really?"

"I don't." Jess repeated. "I like watching our kids grow up. Seeing the person they're becoming."

"But we could keep her from knowing what happened to her…"

"Mommy? Daddy?" Kayla was sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry, baby. Go back to sleep." Sam coaxed.

"You said I didn't have to go back to sleep if I takes a real nap." Kayla reminded him.

Sam chuckled. "But you've only been asleep for fifteen minutes."

"But I's been asleep. A deal's a deal, Daddy. You not say how long I had to sleep."

Jess laughed. "She's right, Daddy."

"Fine. But come in the kitchen with me and Mommy so we don't wake Mary."

"Okay." Kayla said. "Daddy? Can I asks you a question?"

"Sure."

"Am I supposed to be bigger than I am?"

Both parents looked at each other, then back at Kayla. "Why would you ask that, honey?"

"Well, I feels weird. Like I'm not supposed to be here. We're not in the right house. And there's all these pictures on the wall of Mary and a girl that's older than me. And you and Mommy look really, really sad. Like something's bad wrong." Kayla said.

"Nothing's wrong…" Jess started.

"Mommy, I'm not a baby." Kayla asserted. "Tell me the truth. Please."

"Kay…"

"If nothing's wrong, call Grandma." Kayla said. 

"What?"

"Call Grandma and tell her that I need her. If everything's okay, then she'll come and I'll believe you."

Sam swallowed. They couldn't avoid it anymore. "We can't call Grandma, Bug."

"Why not?"

"Because she can't come, honey." Jess said. "Grandma died. A while ago."

"What happened?"

"She, um, she was hit by a car." Jess said simply.

"And Mary?"

"Mary's your sister." Sam answered.

"My big sister?"

"No, Bug. Your little sister. Mary was born when you were eight." Sam said. "You won't meet her for a few years."

"Did something bad happen to me?"

Jess's hand tightened around her coffee mug.

"Why do you think something bad happened, Kay?"

Kayla shifted a little on the couch. "I had a dream last night. You and Mommy was walking with me down the sidewalk. Swinging me back and forth. This big black cloud came up and tried to take me away."

"Have you had that dream before?"

"I don't think so." Kayla said. "I just feel like something bad happened and that's why I had the dream."

Sam had never been so unsure of what to say or do. Apparently, neither had Jess. They said nothing for what felt like forever, but was probably no more than a few seconds.

"It's okay, Daddy. You don't haves to tell me that." Kayla said. "Just promise me something?"

"What, baby?"

"You'll keeps me safe? From the bad guys and the monsters? Always?"

A cold hand gripped Sam's heart and squeezed it, tight and painful, inside his chest. All the months of Kayla hiding what was hurting her because Sam had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts and feelings came rushing back to him. Though he'd told Kayla he wouldn't dwell on it, and he knew she'd forgiven him, the guilt had never left. It ate at him, and he'd doubled down on his vow to protect her after everything had come out in the open. But how could he promise Kayla now that he'd always protect her, when a monster was coming into her life that was more disturbing than any of them had been able to think of.

The door opened and John walked in, carrying a bag from the local Kmart. He closed the door behind him and said, "Sorry I'm late, but the lines were a little nuts…Okay, what's going on?"

"Grandpa, you'll always keep me safe, right? No matter what?"

"Of course I will, honey. Always."

"Me too." Sam said, gaining his courage from his father's response. "I will too, Kayla bug."

"Okay." Kayla said, grin returning. "What you bring me, Grandpa?"

"Why don't we go to the kitchen and see?" Jess suggested. "We don't want to wake up Mary."

"You carry me, Grandpa?" Kayla asked, reaching out her arms for him to pick her up. "Please? Gives me monster kisses?"

John chuckled. "You bet I will."

John picked up Kayla and walked to the kitchen. He used his free hand and attempted to tickle Kayla while giving her kisses on her cheek, making her giggle with delight. Before turning to join them, Jess encouraged Sam,

"You did good."

"We lied to her." Sam said.

"Sam, she's three. And we don't know how long she'll stay like this. It's not wrong to reassure her, especially when we know she's gonna be safe now."

"I know that. I do. I just wish…I wish I could've protected her when it really counted."

"Shh. Stop that. Kayla loves you. And you promised her you wouldn't beat yourself up." Jess reminded him. "Now let's go see what your Dad picked out."

"Yeah. Let's do that."

It was bedtime that night when Sam had an epiphany. He and Jess had decided to let Kayla run out all her energy, and she'd fallen asleep around seven that night. In the three hours since Sam had tucked her in, he'd been thinking about who the grimke could possibly be. Bobby and Dean had taken turns with John playing with Kayla, and hadn't come up with anything concrete. It hit Sam just as he laid down. There had been one person in the hospital with Kayla that had virtually gone unnoticed by everyone. But she'd been in the room every time Sam had left and come back. When he'd leave to go get something to eat, she'd be there checking Kayla's vitals. When he'd leave to go get some coffee, she'd be there again. When Kayla had woken up kicking and screaming from the nightmare, she'd been there trying to convince Sam not to touch Kayla. Sam jumped out of bed and dialed Dean's number.

The grimke was Kayla's nurse from the hospital.


	13. Chapter 13

"Are you sure about this, Sam?"

"As sure as I can be."

They had just arrived at the hospital, when Sam realized they didn't really have a plan of attack. For once, he didn't care. He led his brother and Bobby upstairs to the floor of the hospital Kayla had been staying in. John stayed behind in the Impala for a quick getaway He spotted her right away. Sitting alone at the end of the hall in the nurse's lounge.

"Let's go."

Sam walked into the lounge and the nurse only cursorily glanced up from the book she was reading. Her nametag read Serena. Sam finally took notice of her and he was astonished by how much she looked like Art. They had the same eyes, the same nose, the same basic shape in their face. She was definitely his twin sister.

"Mr. Winchester, I'm sorry, but this is the nurses' lounge. No patients allowed."

"I know. I'm sorry. You, um, you just look like someone I used to know. I wanted to ask if you were maybe related."

"Oh, yeah? Who's that?"

Sam made a fist and held it as tightly as he could. His hand shook from the effort to keep himself under control. "Arthur Lindstrom."

Serena suddenly chuckled. "I was wondering when you'd figure it out."

"Let's go." Bobby said.

"What are you gonna do? Force me out of here?"

"If we have to." Dean replied, lifting up his shirt to reveal his gun hiding underneath.

"Relax, Dean Winchester. You don't have to force me anywhere. Let's go."

They tried to hide their surprise, but it was hard. Serena came along voluntarily, walking with them out to the car like they were just going for a stroll. She was seated in the back between Dean and Bobby. Sam sat up front, honestly afraid that if he sat next to her he'd kill her and they'd never figure out how to get Kayla back. When the ride to Bobby's was over, Bobby dragged her down to his basement as Sam, Dean, and John followed him.

"Is it really necessary to tie me up?"

"Yes." Dean said.

Once she was secure, the scene became, for Sam, eerily reminiscent of the day Art had died. Bobby, John, and Dean stood against a wall, leaving him standing out in the open to confront Serena while staying close by to back him up.

"So? You gonna ask me anything? Or try to force it out of me?"

"Nope. Not gonna go that route." Sam said.

"Oh, my. How very kind of you." Serena drawled.

"Kindness has nothing to do with it." Sam said. "It has to do with speed. How the hell do you know Art?"

"He's my brother." Serena answered. "Or he was. Till you four killed him."

"Your brother died because he hurt my daughter. Over and over and over again. For months." Sam said. "I'm sorry, but he more than deserved it, and if he hadn't been stopped he would've hurt more little girls."

"My brother never hurt a soul in his life."

"I see. You're in denial." Bobby remarked from the sidelines.

"My brother never hurt anyone." Serena seethed, throwing Bobby daggers.

"I researched him after we killed him." John said. "He'd been accused in seven different cities under six different names of hurting other kids around Kayla's age. Are you telling me that six different children, two of who weren't even ten, were all lying?"

"Yes." Serena answered simply.

"Enough chitchat. We know you're the grimke."

Serena started laughing, throwing all the men off their game. She laughed so hard that she threw her head back for a moment and was crying when she looked back at them.

"Something funny?" Dean asked.

"It is if you think it's me."

"Then who is it?"

"Do you know how grimkes work?" Serena asked, not giving them a chance to answer. "They're kind of like boggarts."

"Boggarts?" John asked.

"It's a Harry Potter thing, Dad. They're invisible, and they can take the form of whatever the person facing them is afraid of."

"Exactly. Once you learn how to wrangle a grimke, you can make it take the shape of whatever you want. Only instead of something the victim's afraid of…"

"You can make it take the shape of someone they trust."

"Ding ding ding. Give the man a prize."

Dread filled Sam. "Todd."

"Nope." Serena grinned and shook her head again. "You know, I've spent years learning about this thing and how to control it. All during that time, I heard about how fearsome the Winchesters were and how quick they'd be to kill you. Gotta say, you're lettin' me down big time."

"Cut the crap." Bobby growled. "Who is it?"

"Who was it?" Serena said. "The grimke's been different things over the last few weeks. Think about it, Sam. Kayla's terrified of anyone she doesn't know. Especially of boys she doesn't know. So why the sudden interest in Todd?"

"One of her friends. Who introduced her." Sam said.

"Exactly."

"Did you make that kid sick too?"

"They're just fine. It takes time to make someone sick. I only made it stay in that kid long enough to introduce her to Todd."

"So, Kayla being sick? That was the grimke too?"

"Yep." Serena grinned. "Pretty brilliant, don't you think so?"

"You bitch…" Sam sailed over to Serena, only to be pulled back by John and Dean. His adrenaline was running high, and it took both his father and brother's combined strengths to hold him. "Let me…"

"You can't kill her, Sam. Not yet." Dean said.

"The hell I can't…"

"She's the only lead we've got, son." John reminded him. "Trust me, I get it. Once we figure out how to kill the grimke, how to get it away from Kayla, we'll leave what happens to her up to you. But until then, we just can't. Okay?"

Sam nodded grimly. "Okay."

"Okay. Can I let you go or do you want to go back home and stay with Jess and Kayla until we call you?"

"You can let me go."

John cautiously released Sam's shirt, relieved when he didn't make another dive for Serena. Dean followed, clapping Sam on the shoulder and whispering something indecipherable into his ear. Sam nodded at whatever his brother said, and collected himself.

"How do we kill you?"

Serena chuckled. "The same way you kill any other human, I guess. Gun, rope, knife…"

"Stop stalling. Tell us directly or we start experimenting."

"You…you think I'm the grimke right now?" Serena laughed again, and Sam nearly sailed on her again just to get that annoying laugh to shut up. "My dear boy, you haven't been listening. "I am not the grimke. I control it. For it to continue to hurt my intended target, I have to keep it very close to where I need it to do its damage."

"If it's not you, then…" A frightening thought made Sam's heart sink. "It's Kayla."

"Exactly."

"So, if the Kayla at my house isn't the real one, where is the real one?"

"You think I'm just gonna tell you everything?"

"I think if you want us to think about letting you live after we leave here, you'll spill everything you know."

"No." Serena said. "Go ahead and kill me. If I don't tell you, you'll spend the rest of your life wondering where she is. And since I know you won't be able to do what you have to to get rid of it, you get to live with the knowledge that at any moment, the grimke will hurt your wife and your other precious little girl."

"That's just about enough outta you."

Bobby, who had received a phone call while John and Dean were restraining Sam, walked over to Serena with some duct tape and gagged her by tightly taping her mouth shut. When he finished, the tape was wrapped around Serena's head and circled around her hair several times. Bobby chuckled when Serena's grin changed to a scowl.

"Not quite so fun anymore, is it?" When Serena's frustrated struggling grew boring, Bobby turned back to the group. "That was Rufus. He figured out how to kill the grimke. Apparently once it takes a shape, you can kill it the same way you'd kill anything else that took that shape."

"So the same way you'd kill a human?"

"Exactly. But there's a catch."

"What?" Sam asked.

Bobby sighed. "When the grimke takes the form of a human, it assumes that person's identity. To the point it loses its own."

"So it really thinks it's Kayla as a baby?" Dean asked, horrified.

"Right." Bobby answwered, then turned to an increasingly distraught Sam. "Sam, look, we have to kill her first so she doesn't control the grimke and make us lose it. Why don,'t you take care of her and we'll go get Kayla."

"No, Bobby." Sam said. "I want to be there too."

"Sam, it's not Kayla, but it will look and sound like Kayla. Do you really want the memory of killing her in your head?"

"We'll put her to sleep somehow." Sam said. "But I'm going to be there."

"Okay, bud." Dean said. "Let's do this then."


	14. Chapter 14

The car pulled up to Sam's house just as the sun was coming up. They had debated, in front of Serena, whether or not to kill her. Bobby had even asked her at one point why they should spare her life, and her only answer was that 'there's no way for you to know if it'll kill your precious little girl'. Bobby, without hesitation, put a bullet in her brain, then ushered everyone else outside.

"Sam, do you want to do this?" John asked. "It really is okay if you don't."

"If she…" Sam swallowed. The idea that the little girl he'd spent two days with wasn't actually Kayla still hadn't fully been processed by his brain yet. "If _it_ really thinks it's Kayla, and you stick it with that needle, she's not going to just hold still."

"Sam, she wasn't that scared of needles until she was six." Dean pointed out. "When she got that flu shot."

"She was always scared of them, Dean. That just made it worse." Sam said. "Come on. Let's go."

As Sam climbed out of the car, Jess was walking outside with a distressed Kayla. Kayla was crying softly into her mother's shoulder as Jess tried to comfort her.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"She had that dream again. The one with the black cloud. Said it was worse this time." Jess explained. "Shh, it's okay, baby. Look up, Daddy's back."

"Daddy, where'd you go?" Kayla asked.

"Sorry, Bug. Daddy had something to take care of." Sam said. "Listen, Bug. We need you to do something for us."

"Do what?"

"I need you to go down there with uncle Dean and Grandpa." Sam said. "We're all gonna take a trip."

"What kinda trip?"

"Sam?" Jess asked. "What's going on?"

"It's a surprise for Kayla. I'll give you the details when she's in the car."

Jess took the hint and nodded. "Yeah, sweetie. You go ahead with Daddy, okay?"

"You not coming too?"

"I have to stay here with Mary. I'll see you soon. Can Mommy have a kiss?"

Kayla kissed her mother and then ran down the steps towards her uncle, who picked her up and swung her around the yard. As Kayla giggled, Sam took a seat next to Jess and explained what was going on. Jess was silent.

"Jess? Do you get what I'm saying?"

"I knew." Jess answered. "I knew it wasn't Kayla, I just didn't want to admit it to myself."

"What? How'd you know?"

"That first night. When I was giving her a bath. She reached up to try and splash me and she didn't have her birthmark."

"The one under her arm?"

"Yep. That one." Jess said.

"It's not your fault, Jess. I don't want it to be true, either."

"How did this happen?"

Sam sighed. "We don't know the whole story. Hopefully, we'll figure that out. But we need to go take care of this now?"

"You're _sure_ we'll get Kayla back?"

"I'm as sure as I can be." Sam said honestly. "Whatever happens, we won't stop until Kayla's safe and healthy."

"Will she be sick again?"

"I honestly don't know, babe." Sam said. "Let's focus on getting her back first."

"Yeah. I'll keep Mary here." Jess said. "Just promise me something."

"What?"

"I know that's not Kayla. But just tell her, before, that Mommy loves her."

"I will." Sam stood up and kissed Jess's hand. "We'll be back."

Sam walked down to the car, where Dean sat in the back with Kayla sitting next to him. Sam climbed in and Kayla crawled over to sit in his lap. They sat in silence for a moment, before Kayla finally asked the question.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, Bug?"

"Is everything gonna be okay?"

"Yes, Kayla. Everything's gonna be okay, baby."

"Good. I'm going back to sleep." Kayla said.

"Okay. Go back to sleep."

Kayla leaned back onto Sam's chest and closed her eyes. A split second later, despite the fact that he knew the little one he was holding wasn't really Kayla, he nearly screamed when he felt her stop breathing. But before he could react, and just as Bobby was pulling back into his driveway, Kayla sat up and looked at him.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"We're in the car about to go into Bobby's." Sam answered. He noticed her voice was flatter than he remembered, and she looked to be older than she was. "You're not Kayla, are you?"

"No. I am not."

"You're the grimke?"

"Yes."

"Why are you still in Kayla's body? Are you possessing her somehow?" John asked from the front seat.

"No. I understand your anger. I do. But please just let me explain."

"Can you stop looking like my daughter while you do?" Sam asked.

"If I take my true form, you won't be able to see or hear me." The grimke explained. "Please just let me explain myself, and then if you still want to kill me, I promise I won't struggle."

"No way." John growled. Dean and Bobby were nodding in agreement.

"I want to hear what he has to say, guys." Sam said. "Go ahead."

"Thank you." The grimke said gratefully. "My real name is Malmidoc."

"Why did you do this?" Sam asked. "Why Kayla?"

"You have to understand something first. My race is a peaceful one. We've been around for thousands upon thousands of years. We used to be so numerous that you couldn't look anywhere without seeing us."

"What happened?"

"We have the ability to see the pain that humans are going through. Not just physical pain, but pain in their hearts and souls as well. I believe you call it empathy today. We wanted to help you humans with that, so we decided to use our abilities to help you heal."

"Heal how?"

"When people lose someone they love, we'll take the form of that person and visit them at night. We'll tell them that they're being watched out for, that they'll be alright. We'll sometimes then take the form of a pet, or another person, and try to befriend them."

"What does this have to do with Serena?" Sam asked.

Malmidoc frowned. "The problem with us trying to help people before was that some humans started to take advantage of us. We were too trusting. We thought that if we helped humans, they'd help us. But over the span of a few hundred years, humans figured out how to enslave us and use us to hurt other people. We couldn't tolerate that, so we started to become invisible."

"That's why there's not a lot we could find on you."

"Over time, the knowledge that we existed started to fade, but it never went away completely. Hunters would find what little information about us existed, and would search for us, but they would almost never be able to find us."

"How did Serena find you?" Dean asked.

"I don't know." Malmidoc answered. "I honestly don't. I also don't know how she was able to enslave me either. But once she did, I had to go where she sent me and do what she said."

"Why didn't you refuse?" Sam asked.

"If any single one of us refuses an order from a human, no matter what it is, our entire species dies. My choice was hurting your daughter or killing my entire species."

"So why are you telling us this now?" Sam asked. "Why did you reveal yourself to me?"

"Because I sense in you a kind soul. I sense someone who would understand my predicament. I also sense that Serena is dead. Am I correct?"

"You're right." Sam said. "She's dead."

"Thank you." Malmidoc said. "When a human enslaves us, if they die, we are released from our obligation."

"Where's Kayla?" John asked from the driver's seat.

Malmidoc, still speaking through little Kayla's body, smiled. "Kayla has already been returned to her bed. She is sleeping and has been completely healed."

Sam's phone beeped with a message from Jess. _Kayla's back in her bed! Is it safe to wake her up?_ "Guys, he's telling the truth. That's Jess. She says Kayla's in her bed."

"Take her back to the hospital to verify that what I'm saying is correct. Your daughter is healthy again."

"That's all well and good, but we have no way of knowing if you'll hurt anyone else." Bobby said.

"Let him go."

Dean, John, and Bobby all stared at Sam.

"I believe him. Serena forced him to do this. It's not his fault." Sam said. "Do you have a family?"

"Yes. I have a mate and two children." Malmidoc said. "Thank you, Sam Winchester."

"Go." Sam said.

"There's one more thing I'd like to say." Malmidoc asked. "Would you permit me?"

"What is it?"

"When Kayla was sick, I took the form of the tumors in her body. I spread them out because I was hoping that a little damage all over would be less draining on her life energy than one large tumor."

"Okay."

"While she was sick, I was able to see into Kayla's soul. I won't deny that it's been damaged. But it's healing. Every time you tell her how much you love her, or hug her, or comfort her when she's scared or hurt, her soul continues to heal. I just thought you would like to know. Your support, and the support of the rest of your family, is building Kayla back up."

"Thank you." Sam said gratefully. "I did need to hear that."

"Thank _you_, Sam Winchester. I will return to my family now."

Before anyone could blink, Sam's lap was empty again and Malmidoc was gone. John turned the car around and headed back towards Sam's house. Kayla was standing in the yard in the pajamas she'd been wearing when she came home from the hospital. After reuniting and getting dressed, Sam took Malmidoc's advice and took Kayla back to the hospital. The results blew everyone away.

"Kayla, I don't know what to say here." Dr. Jackson continued to stare at Kayla's test results. "There's no trace you were ever sick. How do you feel?"

Kayla shrugged. "I feel great."

"No headaches? Dizziness? Fever? Nausea? Nothing?"

"Nothing." Kayla said.

"Well, I'd like to ask you to come back in a month, and then again at six months. Just to make sure it's completely gone. But I swear, my entire career, and you're the closest thing to a miracle I've ever seen."

"We'll make sure she comes back, Dr. Jackson. Will you tell Dr. Peel thank you for us too?"

"Oh, trust me, he's definitely gonna want to see this." Dr. Jackson said.

"Can I come in?"

Kayla turned around and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey." Todd walked in and kissed Kayla's cheek. He held a bouquet of mixed flowers in his hand. "Sorry, Mrs. Winchester, these are for Kayla this time."

"I think I'll live." Jess replied.

"Can Todd and I please go somewhere after he gets out of school?" Kayla asked.

"Actually, my parents are downstairs. They said if it was okay, I could stay out of school today. They'd like all of us to meet."

"Really?" Kayla asked. "Can we, please?"

"I don't think we had any other plans today." Jess said, looking towards Sam. "What do you think?"

"I like the idea." Sam agreed.

"My dad's great on the grill. He wanted to grill some hot dogs and hamburgers for all of us. Have an impromptu cookout." Todd explained. He turned to Bobby, Dean, and John. "You guys are invited too."

"Do _I _have to go to school?" Mary asked.

"No. Just for today, though. You go back tomorrow. So does Kayla."

"Deal!"

The family walked out first, followed by Dr. Jackson, leaving Kayla and Todd alone in Dr. Jackson's office for a few moments. Without thinking about it, Todd grabbed Kayla's hand. "I'm glad you're okay."

Kayla smiled. "I will be as long as you're here. Come on, let's go wrangle our families."

"Can I steal my second kiss?"

"Nope. But I'll give it to you."

"Alright, you two. Let's get going." Sam said, breaking them up. "Todd, Kayla'll be right out. I just want to talk to her a minute."

"Sure."

"Dad?"

"Relax, you're not in trouble. I just want to say this." Sam took the chair next to Kayla and grabbed both her hands. "I just want you to know something. I'm so proud of you. Every single day, I'm so proud of you."

"What's this for?"

"I just need you to know that. Don't ever doubt it. Okay?"

"I won't. Thanks, Dad."

"Let's go." Sam said.

"Wait, I want to tell you something first."

"What?"

Kayla stood up, hugged Sam around the neck, and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Bug. I love you too."


End file.
